DanganRonpa! Never-ending Despair
by PansexualPirate
Summary: It's years after the last killing game. The world has finally started healing its wounds as despair has finally started to shrink back into the shadows. Hope's Peak Acadamy had opened up to new heights with Makoto Naegi as the new headmaster. Everything seemed to go wonderfully until... Until it all seemed to be happening again. Another Killing School Life, another 16 students...
1. Prologue

The city rose to new heights as the ground seemed to become stable once again. The air was clearer than it had been in fear was pushed back to a manageable amount. The sun shined down on the entire world again as everything returned to its natural balance. Some things were still being pieced together, sure there were towns still slowly rebuilding from the effects of Tragedy, but overall, Despair had lost. Despair sunk back into the cracks it had escaped from like a toxic gas as it was returned to its source. Hope blossomed and created a new world where the old one had been destroyed. It had taken a long time to get this far but now it seemed as if everything had finally worked out. People could finally go back to living normal lives without the fear of Despair wrapping around their throats like a deadly snake.

Makoto sighed as he looked out the window. The day was bright as sun poured down on the entrance to the school. From his headmaster's office Makoto could see the world below. The city around the new Hope's Peak academy had already been rebuilt. The buildings were framed around the new center of hope. A lot of things had changed in the school, to keep despair from festering inside. There was no more experiments, no more reserve course. The teachers were all the grizzled survivors of the killing games, ready to take in the students as the came in, ultimately talented like before.

There they were, walking towards the school as it finally opened. Makoto watched as they headed towards the school, joy spreading over their faces as they headed towards the entrance. It seemed as if there was time to get back to work. It was weird, being in charge of a place like this, he'd never thought it would come to this. But as Makoto slid into his seat behind his desk he knew, at this point in time, it was where he belonged. From here, he could watch over the students and help spread hope to the parts of the world that were still in need of it.

There was a loud creak that filled the room, sending sounds through the large office. The headmaster slowly raised his head, unsure of who might be entering the room. "Oh, Good evening Hinata." Makoto gave a slight wave. Gesturing the man as he came into the room. He was easily recognized by his height and the large calic on the top of his head. Not to mention the dual colored eyes, those were definitely hard to miss.

"Morning Headmaster Naegi." Hajime started as he stepped into the room. "are you ready to go meet the new students?"

Makoto stood up from the desk, maybe he really didn't realize what time it was already. He let out a short chuckle before stretching, giving off a long yawn before reaching to adjust his suit. "Yup, looks like it's time to introduce the new students! I'm so glad we've gotten a whole class!"

Hajime gave a quick nod before walking out the door. "Let's not keep them waiting, Makoto."

Makoto chuckled as he headed to the gymnasium. The halls were all decorated with bright, colorful streamers and balloons. Large greeting signs covered all the walls as they walked down towards the gymnasium. He could already see some of the previous students standing in front of the gymnasium. Barely hearing the words that were coming from their mouth, more of hearing the buzz of their words, not quite able to make them out yet.

"How can you not be excited?" A breathy voice said, Makoto picking it out as he finally grew close enough to hear.

"I hate when you say hope… you make it sound dirty." Said a raspy voice interrupted.

"Today is a truly an exciting event! You mortals are increasing in numbers by the second!"

"You guys, It's almost ti-" The last voice was one of the most familiar to Makoto. He smiled happily as Asahina popped out of the back of the crowd. "Naegi! We were worried you forgot!"

Makoto paused, looking at the group gathered in front of the gym. They all looked excited or nervous, some showing a mix of both. At this point, they were all his friends. People he cared for, people he trusted with every part of his being. He watched they're smiling faces as they got ready for the ceremony. "I wouldn't miss this for the world." he started as he lead them all into the gym.

All those who had accepted roles as teachers took their place around the edges of the gym. Their eye's followed Makoto as he walked up to the stage, taking his place behind the pedestal as he turned just in time to see Hajime lead the students into the room. They all looked so excited to be here, in the opening of the new school. They each took a place in front of the stage. All 16 of them…

16… was that right? Or was it 15… The memory was getting fuzzy. Makoto looked around as everyone's faces started to warp. What was going on? Why did it feel like… feel like everyone was melting around him… The students! What about the students! They were gone, their chairs empty. The Gym looked burned to a crisp… there was the smell of Iron. Everything went dark before…

The tile was cold against Makoto's cheek. Slowly he started to pull himself up, the area around him was dark and musty, like an old room that hadn't been attended to often. Slowly he lifted his head off the ground. It felt like his head was spinning. Had something happened? From his position on the floor it looked as if he had fallen asleep in one of the break rooms. He'd fallen asleep in awkward places before… But in the middle of the floor? No, that seemed wrong . Something felt too familiar about this, the nightmare burning at the back of his head as he slowly pulled himself off the ground. Looking around, he saw another body laid across the ground. It shot even more panic through his chest as he ran over.

"Are you okay?"

The body didn't move at first, and Makoto began to think the worst. He gently walked over the the body, dressed in the large jumpsuit that was painfully yellow, pink hair coming from underneath the dark grey hat and spilling all over the floor. Makoto swallowed hard. "Souda? H-"

Suddenly the other by shot up, screaming at the top of his lungs and scampering to his feet. Then, after a few moments of the belching scream, he looked around again. Looking puzzled before his eyes settled on Makoto with a large, goofy grin. "Naegi! Sorry, I had the worst nightmare ever." He paused as he looked around the classroom, laughing as he rubbed the back of his head. "Shoot! Did I fall asleep in class again?"

Makoto pauses before he'd just get more confused. How often did Souda fall asleep in class to think it was normal? Plus on the floor. Kazuichi was a teacher, he really shouldn't be falling asleep on the floor. He shook his head before chuckling awkwardly. He'd never talked too much to the Ultimate Mechanic and there was probably a good reason for that. "Souda, do you remember falling asleep in here?"

Souda paused, as if thinking was a new concept to him. He moved to scratch his jaw as he thought about it for a moment, moving to scratch his neck in thought. "Well, now that I think about it, the last thing I remember was working on a really big project. This super sick robo-"

"So you don't remember being in class?" Makoto injected, not really interested in what else the mechanic had to say, "you don't remember how you got here?"

Kazuichi paused again rubbing the back of his neck as he glanced around. "Well… No, but is that really a big deal?"

Makoto felt his heart race for a moment as panic began to boil in his gut. He felt like he needed to run. Looking around, he could see that they were on the floor. He could easily recall the classroom. Balloons and ribbons were strung all over the walls, but they looked old and broken, appearing as if someone had turned down the saturation from his previous dream. It was almost too surreal for Makoto to really comprehend. With another deep breath, Makoto slowly started to walk towards the only visible door. Turning the handle with a quite, relieved sigh. The door wasn't locked, maybe he was just overreacting, maybe he really had just passed out on the floor.

Kazuichi leaned over Makoto's shoulder as they both peered into the hall. Kazuichi carrying a dumbfounded look on his face as he glanced around. Makoto kind of wished he wouldn't get so close… the smell of gasoline seemed to be his only fragrance. "It's pretty eerie how dark the hallway is? Maybe they all broke? Guess I gotta fix them later, huh? Still creepy as hell, ya know?"

Makoto felt his heart drop at those words. The thought maybe this was just a coincidence was killed by Souda's clumsy phrasing. How could he ever be so empty minded. Makoto went to open his mouth to tell him to back up when movement caught the corner of his eye and before Makoto could turn to see who it was, Kazuichi pushed his way into the hallway.

"Hey! Gundham! Did you turn the lights off?"

Makoto could see the other teacher about to pass the hall. Unfortunately, Makoto caught the look of confusion on the otherwise dark expression of the other man's face, so things were still not looking to good for the current situation.

"Hmph, why would I ever use my abilities to do something as meaningless as that?"

Kazuichi huffed, as if annoyed by the answer. "Because you're extra? I don't know? Who else would turn off all the lights in the school? Like they wouldn't just dim like this the-"

"Where did you just come from, Tanaka?" Makoto interrupted Souda's ramblings, knowing the pink haired man could go on forever with this kind of stuff and that it was best to get to the point while he could, "and what was the last thing you remember?"

Gundham paused before giving a thin smirk. "A mere mortal like you asking of my dark appearance? Can you not comprehend the idea of my sudden emergence with that weak, mortal brain?"

"Sorry Tanaka but please just get to the point, I need to know." Makoto injected, nerves still writhing in his gut as memories boiled in the back of his head. "Please…"

"Of course, I awoke back at the end of the hall. I was in one of the classrooms. The last memory that resides in my dark mind is…" He paused, taking a moment as his complexion pale. This only made Naegi tense up more. "But my last memory does not reside in the classroom. I had been tending to the animals in the greenhouse on the second floor."

Makoto swallowed and took a step out of the room. "This isn't good." He felt the panic boil up more, his chest tense as fear swelled over him. He must have looked horrible, because when Kazuichi spoke behind him, his voice cracked a bit.

"Hey, maybe this is just a weird prank, Naegi, don't get to uptight about it! Let's go find everyone else!" Kazuichi started as he started walking down the hall. "Besides, there's no way that-"

"Good Morning Everyone! I see everyone has finally woken up!" The voice… no… It felt like Makoto was being stabbed a million times as he listened to that voice. "Will all teacher's report to the gymnasium for the Entrance Ceremony? Please hurry, your students are waiting for you!" That last section sounded like a threat. The playful high pitched voice dropping down to a menacing scold.

Makoto felt like he was going to drop to the ground. This had to be another nightmare. There was no other possibility, right? Nightmares of that voice plagued him daily, yelling in his ear. Images of dead friends flashed in front of his eyes, he couldn't move, he felt like he was going to collapse on the ground. It was like he wasn't in this school anymore, but somewhere very different. The world around him began to spin. Someone called his name, and for a moment, he thought it was her…

"Naegi, are you going to throw up? L-Listen it's gotta be some kind of joke." The image of the old school vanished from his mind as Souda put a tight hand on his shoulder, his pink eyes wide with obvious fears. The words spilling out of his mouth were obviously meant more for himself than for anyone else. "Let's just go to the gym. It's probably just Komaeda, we all know that guy has a sick sense of humor, right?"

Tanaka started walking, the bottom of his jaw just obscured by his scarf. Makoto couldn't read his face, it was just the normal, dismal look he always carried. Kazuichi quickly followed after Gundham as he started his ramblings of fear towards him. That must be why he didn't talk, he knew the others would follow him, that the best thing to do right now is to push forward. With a deep inhale, Makoto quickly jogged to catch up. Following the two until they reached the gym.

Makoto took it all in. everything looked like the school he had rebuilt. There were a lot of things he had to change, He just couldn't handle having the school look just like the one from the first killing game. If he had to walk through this school every day, he couldn't handle constant reminders. As the three walked through the walkway before the actual gym, Makoto looked over the trophy case. He could see the few trophies that had been placed inside… all hand picked by Asahina and Kyoko… Quickly he snapped his head forward as Tanaka pushed the door open to the gym, his heavy boots sounding across the smooth floor as he took the first step in .

Inside were the banners he had seen in his dream. Large welcome signs, inviting the new students to the school. Half deflated balloons and popped ones littered the floor. Makoto had to take a few steps forward before everything sunk in. His eyes tried to locate something important when suddenly-

 _Bang!_

Before anyone could really react to the loud, jarring sound, Kazuichi let out another earsplitting scream. Makoto covered his ears as a reaction. A moment after the scream sounded through the gym, a breathy laugh could be heard, followed by an oops .

Makoto turned to see Komaeda off to the side of the gymnasium, closer to the wall. The bright plastic scraps of a balloon crushed underneath one of his feet. Once everyone was looking at him, he shrugged. "Didn't mean to startle you, I just got bored waiting."

"You asshole!" Souda sniffled as he wiped his eyes. "You did this didn't you?"

Now Komaeda paused, a slightly puzzled look crossing his face as his eyebrows raised slightly, his mouth lying slightly open as his metal pointer finger went to tap his bottom lip. "What do you mean?"

"Fuck off! You know what I'm talking about! The damn announcement! Don't play dumb!"

"Oh! That? That wasn't me! I just woke up in here."

"Liar! You're lying!"

"It's amazing that an ultimate like you would think that a lowly cockroach such as myself would be able to orchestrate such an event. I'm so happy."

"Ugh, Yes you are! Who else would do something so fu-" Kazuichi stopped speaking himself as he turned to the door behind them. They all turned to see the new arrival in the gymnasium. Muscles stiff as they feared who could arrive in the gymnasium next.

"Hajime!" Komaeda was the first to respond to the new arrival. The dual eyed boy blinking at the sight in front of him and unfortunately appeared to be just as confused as Makoto.

"Great!" Souda's lip trembled as he turned to the other boy. "You can talk sense into Komaeda! Tell him to cut it out! He only listens to you! Tell him this joke isn't funny!"

Hajime glanced around before looking at Komaeda, raising a brow for a moment his eyes questioning the lanky boy. Komaeda had already started to walk back over to the group, ignoring Souda's obvious glaring. "I have no idea what they're talking about."

Hajime sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. He opened his mouth to talk, but that's when the voice sang through the gym, bouncing off the walls and surrounding them like a cage.

"Took you geezers long enough to gather here!"

Makoto was too afraid to turn around, the sound game from the gym's stage behind him. He didn't hear anyone turn to face it right away, but the look on Hajime's face, the only person who was turned towards the back of the gym, was enough to tell the whole story. Eyes wide, pupils dilated, shaking as they stared ahead, paralyzed with obvious fear. Makoto could feel his body stiffen. His world was spinning again as everyone else turned to face _it._ Makoto couldn't bring himself to do it. His whole body was stiffened with fear.

"Aaaw, Naegi! You won't even look at an old friend? How insulting!"

Slowly he turned, his whole world shaking even more as he saw the monochrome bear sitting up on the pedestal, giving a slight wave at the five guests in the of his paws raised up, waving as the brunette finally looked at him. "Long time, no see Makoto Naegi."

Makoto couldn't hold it back, tears filled his eyes as he started to shake his head. This wasn't real, it couldn't be real! Not again! No he couldn't do this again! It was another nightmare! I-It wasn't real! Makoto was already sobbing by the time Monokuma spoke again.

"Aw, Naegi, you must have really missed me!"

Makoto screamed. He screamed so loud he was surprised it was him. He couldn't hold it back, his entire body was shaking at this point. The edges of his vision began to darken until he was completely out. The last thing he remembered was collapsing onto the ground, feeling the cold floor hit his head on the way down.

* * *

Hajime almost couldn't believe it, he watched Makoto collapse on the ground. Mouth dry as everyone slowly brought their gaze back up to look at the bear on the stage.

"I missed you all so much 3 3!" Monokuma started as he looked over the five scared people in front of him. "Makoto was so excited he passed out on the ground! Puhuhuhu! And look at you all! You've all grown up so big and strong!"

"What the hell is going on?" Hajime called out, taking a few steps closer to the bear at the stage, his face stern and cold. Sweat dripping down his forehead as he closed the distance between him and the bear. "You're dead!"

"Oh, am I?" Monokuma pretended to be confused by his words, gently tapping his bottom lip with his hand. "If I'm dead, how could I be here right now?' Monokuma hopped down from the stage, walking towards them across the gymnasium. "I've missed you all so much, but you've all given me the cold shoulder! It's almost like you guys aren't happy to see me. I went through all this trouble to give you this nice, warm welcome and here you guys are, completely ungrateful!"

"Shut the hell up!" Hajime yelled back at Monokuma. His fists tightening as he watched the enemy he thought he'd left in his past. The very thing he thought he'd never have to lay witness to again while he was still alive. "We're sick of your shit! Leave us alone!"

"Oooh, Hajime. Why would I ever leave you alone?" His voice turned outright cold, sending shivers through Hajime's entire body as he looked up at the monster. "Besides, I created such big plans for you guys! Hmm, maybe if you asked nicely I'll go away."

Hajime went to open his mouth but he was cut off by the sob of Souda. "Pleaaase, go away." He turned to see his friend shaking, tears and snot running down his face. "Please, Leave us alone!"

Monokuma paused, staring blankly at them for a moment as if he'd returned to being some kind of toy. That was until he burst into laughter once more. "Just Kidding! But seeing you grovel like that really made my day. Pull yourself together, you look pathetic!" Monokuma laughed even harder than before, ringing around the room like a bullet. Hajime glanced over to Kazuichi, who was quickly trying to remove all the tears from his face. "Now, how about we get started with this new Killing Game, okay?"

Hajime could hear Souda vehemently in denial from the back, this can't be happening. Not again. But his voice was ultimately drowned out my Monokuma's words. He took steps closer, standing in the center of the group as he spoke. His ursine voice, nails on a chalkboard to all of them.

"So, this time, the game will be played a little differently. You're all wonderful teachers now, who care so deeply about your students! It really brings a tear to my eye. Well, now we'll really see how much you care! In this Killing Game, you guys get to watch as your wonderful students kill each other on your behalf!" Monokuma cheered as if he was announcing the big prize at the end of a game show, not another murdering event. "But don't worry about feeling left out, You get to participate too. well, I already know none of you old squares will kill each other. Which is boooooooring. Instead, you get to be the people who can truly end this game! All you have to do is prevent any killings for a whole week! You are all such inspirational teachers, so I doubt it'll be too hard ;)."

Hajime didn't even realize how tightly clenched his fist was until he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. Nagito had closed the gap between the two. At first he thought it was to comfort him until he noticed the desperate look in komaeda's eyes. No, Komaeda's touch was to steady himself

"We'll get to the rules after all the introductions have taken place. We all know how boring those are, so we'll have a little bit of excitement waiting for us at the end of it. But let's cut to the chase! Let's get the student's in here! Everyone step away from the door!"

the teachers took a few steps back away from the door as they heard footsteps approaching the gym. Kazuichi was the only one to take a step forward, scooping the unconscious Makoto off the ground and backing up with him. **T** he hum of voices slowly filled the area behind it, all their eyes were drawn on the door,.

Suddenly the door was pushed open as the aforementioned students walked in, Confusion seemed to fill each and every one of their faces. They all looked around the gymnasium, eyes focusing on the teachers ahead of them. For some reason, for some reason his eyes automatically focused on three students in particular

The students nervously cluttered around the entrance, . Some of them stared at the teachers on the other side of the gym, as if waiting for them to explain why they were here. Unfortunately, Hajime was just as informed as they were.

There was a weird moment of silence before Komaeda stepped forward, an awe filled grin crossing his thin, cracked lips. "There they are! The newest symbols of hope! I remember all of you!"

Hajime glanced over at Komaeda and gave a short sigh. He was a bit worried to have him in a situation like this… He was finally getting… better. "Then why don't you introduce them all for us, Nagito?" Hajime asked before turning his gaze back to the students.

"With Pleasure, Hajime!" Komaeda said as he glanced over to the first student. The girl gave a quick glance around before taking a few steps forward. Her long, dark hair was worked into extremely elaborate braids, going down slightly past her shoulder. Her skin was only a few shades lighter than her dark locks. Her eyes a soft, light honey color. She was more heavy set with a rounder face. Her clothes resembled that of elaborate, antique t, Spanish style dress. Elaborately stitched and woven together. It looked as if she had jumped out of an old black and white photo. Weirdly enough, she was one of the students who stuck out the most to Hinata."This here is Isadora Luna. The Ultimate 's famous for coming up with the biggest line of plus size wear, she stitches everything by hand, plus she can make an outfit out of almost nothing!"

Luna gave a quick bow, the cloth of her dress moving with her. She glanced around before clearing her throat. "It's a pleasure, my dear. Your words flatter me." She started before giving a curtsey and taking a step aside for the next student. This one wasn't one of the four that really dug at the back of Hajime's head. It was another girl, her hair was dark and thick, falling down to the back of her knees. Her dark hair scooped over her face, almost covering over her left, red eye. She was as pale as a ghost, almost as if all the color had been sucked from her body. She wore a black jacket, one that you'd expect to be in a normal school uniform. A white sweater visible underneath. Her lower half was covered in a long, floor length, gothic style skirt. She gently put her hand over her mouth as Komaeda went to introduce her. Hajime swore he heard Gundham make a noise behind him. Maybe it was because she looked around as extra as he did.

"This is Akumu Kusonoki, the Ultimate Paranormal Investigator." Komaeda said, giving an excited clap as he went on. "She's videotaped more ghosts than any other investigator! Plus she has solved countless murders with her investigations."

Hajime gave a nod before she spoke, her loud voice taking him off guard. "All spirits cry in fear when they hear me enter! I can find any ghost or spirit! They cannot hide from me!" She said, her shy look dissolving as she took an aggressive stance, fists bunching up in determination.

A boy strode forward next, a decided arrogance to his walk as he headed to push the other girl out of the way. Looking at the student he was almost compulsively embarrassed for him, though he didn't know why. He gave off the feeling that he thought he was better than everyone else. A wave of excellence in his tight fit school jacket and smoothed out dress pants. His hair was pulled into a gross looking bun on the top of his head. He really looked like he didn't… wash his hair often. Komaeda chuckled and spoke up as the student pushed Kusonoki out of the way, the small girl stumbling to the side. "That's Tomonori Kentaro, The Ultimate Vegan. He's created cruelty-free products of almost anything you can imagine. Creating new foods indiscernible to it's corpulent cousin! Apparently he's been a Vegan since he was born!"

"I pride myself in my wonderful, all natural lifestyle," Kentaro said as he laid his fingers gently against his chest, "I am truly superior to these other fools." He stood there for a moment before a tall girl shoved him out of the way, a giant, wild grin covering her face.

"Me next!" She called, her voice was a bit raspy. She was dressed in a baggy jumpsuit. Her suit was a sky blue with lime green race stripes down the sides that did a good job of covering up her tanned freckled skin. She would tower over the rest of the students except she seemed to favor slouching her shoulders. Her hair was a streak of red color. Obviously dyed. . Her piercing blue gaze seemed to go right through Hajime, Hajime thought to himself that she needed to zip her suit up a little higher than she had it at the moment. She pointed her thumb into her chest with a large shit eating grin as Komaeda went to introduce her.

"This is the Ultimate Racer, Umeko Sato. She's won every race she's ever been in, plus she was the youngest person to ever participate in Race Car driving." Hajime couldn't help but think of how that was extremely illegal.

Umeko stepped aside as the next person walked up. He walked with a measured sway to his hips, his tan skin was covered in freckles, but it was as if each one had been placed with intention. His jawline, body posture, and the way he walked all seemed to read perfection. His hair was shoulder length and layered, framing his face in perfect curls. His lashes were long and clearly finely cared for. He buttoned up his shirt only halfway, showing off his muscled chest underneath. Hajime changed his mind, this guy is the one who needs to learn about modesty, not Sato. He had clean, black dress pants up just higher than his waist. His pants slim fitting and his shirt loose and open. Honestly the guy looked like he was pulled out of a cheesy romance novel, not that hajime would know anything about that.

"This is Ryunosuke Kaito **,** he's the Ultimate Actor. He's been starring in movies since he was a baby. His fan clubs are more like cults, religiously following his movies. He's most famous for his very appearance in the new action movie , "The Great Escape! You've probably heard of it."

Kaito gave a nod and with a flourish pulled a rose out of his sleeve, gazing at it as if it holds the key to his own heart. "I am truly a master performer. I promise to give you quite the show." With a wink he stepped aside. "Um, hello"The next Student was very small with fuller hips. She came off as adorable as she strolled forward in pastel blue overalls and a cute, pink tee shirt underneath, covered in the prints of succulents. Her puffy, blond hair bloomed out from underneath her sun hat. Her tanned skin gave away the long hours she must toil away under the hot sun her innocent blue eyes were surrounded by two pairs of blond eyelashes. She gave a warm smile as Nagito went on to describe her more.

"This is Carol Iris, the Ultimate Botanist. She's won countless fairs with delicious and sometimes monstrous creations. She can grow and care for any kind of plant imaginable!"

Carol smiled and gave a slight giggle. "I just want to make people happy with my plants!" She stepped aside for the next girl. Her yellow sweater had a tall collar which she was using to hide half of her face inside Her hair was a pale, almost white,pink, She had on a short, pink skirt that barely tucked out from underneath her long sweater. her simple, black dress shoes housed a pair of tall, knee high socks. A- cute, music note design danced on the top of her socks. She pulled her face out of her sweater as Komaeda began to introduce her. As she shifted back and forth, Hajime noticed her right hand was a robotic prosthetic.

"This is Moeko Niijima **,** The Ultimate DJ. celebrities, the one percent, and even high ranking government officials come from all over to attend her raves. Her parties can be heard from 100 kilometers away but she still manages to keep them under her thumb the whole time. She has amazing composure and can mix almost any music together into a great beat."

The girl gave a short nod before her cheeks flushed slightly. "I do love parties… the louder the better… I always say…" She sure didn't look like she enjoyed loud things, hajime thought to himself. She stepped aside as the next person walked up. A clean, white apron was wrapped around the boy's waist. Stitched carefully into the upper half of the apron was a coffee cup with steam pouring out of it. He had on a grey hoodie with a matching beanie on top of his head. Mocha waves poured from the beanie onto his neck. He gave a slight, nervous nod, his hair splashing around with the movement. His skin tone was close to Akane's. His legs were wrapped in worn jeans, patches sewn haphazardly over the knees of the pants and elbows of his clothes.

"This is Kazuki Himura, The Ultimate Barista. He's inspired millions with his coffee flavors and designs! He's well known for finding the perfect coffee for everyone who comes into his store and has inspired millions with his latte art"

Himura gave a nod and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Talking about coffee just makes me want coffee! I really hope we can get some after this!" what a fucker

The next student came up next, he sported, windbreaker three sizes too big. The colors all seemed to clash with everything in the room. Bold, geometric shapes flashed on the nylon. He wore impossibly tiny jean shorts with it, intentionally ripped on the edges. His electric blue thigh high socks had yellow lightning bolts jolting down the side. His shoes were equally bright skater shoes, matching the windbreaker in design. Flipped back on his head was a radical green flat bill hat. His bleach blond hair was pushed back and looked like a mullet as splayed out from underneath his hat in a mullet like shape. Long, thick eyelashes surrounded his deep brown eyes. A skateboard covered in a random assortment of gaudy stickers was rested in the crook of his left arm

"This is Fumio Kobayashi, the Ultimate Cytologist. He's been researching cancerous cells since the beginning of grade school! By the time he was accepted to hope's peak, he had already cured thousands-"

"Hey dude, They totally messed up my talent on the way here. I'm supposed to be the Ultimate Sk8tr… emphasis on the 8. curing cancer is just a hobby, honestly I'm a ton better at skating. Tony hawk asks for my autograph dude, i swear." He tossed his skateboard on the ground as he went to skate away. "Also, call me Koba, sounds a lot cooler, ya know." he confidently flips down his board and starts to jump on it , but he only barely gets a foot before slipping off and landing on the ground face first. Everyone decided it was better to ignore him and continue with the introductions.

Next stepped up an innocent looking kid who happened to be one of the shorter students in the class. skull pinned to his sweater vest caught Hajime's eye first. Underneath was a clean, white dress shirt and a sweater vest. dress pants stained his legs black as he gave a smile, showing off the gap in the center of his teeth. He had very round glasses perched on his nose with long lashed eyes. Bangs colored his forehead with a silvery gray color as a bowl cut wrapped around the rest of his head. "I'm Beagan Sweeney, The Ultimate Tattoo Artist. I once tattooed someone's entire body in 24 hours. It was quite meditative if I do say so myself." Well, Hajime appreciated his forwardness as the boy stepped to the side, allowing the next to step forward.

A girl with a crop top and tight hot pants stepped up, a blazer was tossed over her shoulders a ponytail made its home high on the side of her head. She had on small, square glasses and painted nails flashed as she nervously rubbed her hands together. She blinked her dolled lashes around her bright blue eyes before swallowing hard. Hajime noted how nervous she looked. She was definitely the shortest person here. She bit her thumb instinctively as Komaeda went to speak for her.

"This is Masako Kagabu, the Ultimate Stock Trader. She's made millions buying and selling stocks! She has almost clairvoyant precision when it comes to her work. She has gotten a lot of her clients rich without leaving her own home."

Kagabu went to open her mouth but quickly shut it. Whimpering as she ran back to her place next to the other introduced students. She was soon replaced by a more confident looking girl. She had a high, ponytail pulled tight at the top of her head. She had on a fancy dress up shirt, buttoned up with purpose to go with the perfect wrinkle free nature of her outfit. She had a ostentatious cravat rising from the collar of her shirt and a pencil skirt that wrapped her hips. Her shoes looked very out of place, however. Clearly made for use in a kitchen to prevent slipping. The smallest Chef hats Hajime had ever seen rested on her head.

"This is Candi Bellerose, the Ultimate Chef. She's been working at restaurants since she was 8 and a sou chef at has created some of the most delicious recipes known to man, plus she has her own cooking show!"

She let out a snobbish laugh, covering her mouth with one of her hands as she got a big grin. "It's the only thing keeping that network alive, truth be told. Anyways, all my recipes will make you drool, you'll all have to let me cook for you sometime!"

The next guy had a very commanding presence about him. An oily, black dome of hair covered his head his red eyes seemed like they could make you do anything he wanted. A single lock escaped from the rest and hung down over his forehead,. His eyes were an imposing red and underneath lay dark lines around his eyes. He wore a snazzy white suit with a black undershirt and a white tie. He looked very proud of himself, even though he hadn't done anything yet.

"This is Mitsuharu Sugai, The Ultimate Motivational Speaker. He inspires masses with his words alone and conjures hope just by bringing out inner confidence in are rumors that the prime minister wouldn't be the man he is today without the help of sugai."

"No matter the situation, I can talk you through anything! Hell, I could do wonders to this lanky, white haired fella." He spoke with a loud, booming voice, giving him a hard, firm slap on the back. Hajime flinched slightly,it sounded like it hurt.

Surprised, Komaeda stumbled from the contact and let out a wispy laugh, one Hajime knew from experience that it was completely fake. "I doubt you could make a rotting piece of trash like me feel good about himself! There's nothing here to inspire! Even so, I would feel honored if you tried."

They were almost done with introductions, only a few students still needed to be introduced. It was unusual that Monokuma waited so patiently for them to get through all of this,hajime thought as the next girl walked up. She had her hair pulled into two long, brown pigtails to keep it out of her eyes. Her eyes were a nebulous green and they scanned over Komaeda as if she was carefully considering something about him. She had on a basic school uniform, On Her white shirt, a small red tie came down and neatly tied against her chest. Her skirt was a shade paler than the tie. The most strange thing about her was the large box she had tossed over her shoulder by the strap more specifically,the odd assortment objects protruding from the top. Ears and claws that look like they were ripped off of a monster accompanied by a plumage of well worn and colorful brushes. You could tell the girl was a fan of cult monster movies as the star of a specific creature feature adorned the top of her knee high socks.

"This is Saya Eguchi, she's the Ultimate Special Effects Master. She's done monster makeup for hundreds of well known movies and tv shows. Once, A police officer mistook one of her more gruesome creations for the real deal, giving that actor the surprise of his life!"

Eguchi gave an awkward chuckle as she timidly rubbed the back of her neck. When she spoke Hajime could see she had in fake vampire teeth. "Well, I I toned it down after that guy got shot. It's too bad he ruined 8 hours worth of makeup though..."

The second to last girl who walked up was the tallest in the entire group. Muscled arms branched out from a solid torso and underneath two powerful legs to match.. A determined jaw showed someone who never gave up until she got her way. Expressive yellow eyes challenged everyone in the room with carefully placed makeup around them to make them even sharper. She had on a jacket with a large collar and a wrinkled undershirt underneath. Her short skirt underneath matched the muted brown of her jacket and some hints of red decorated her jacket and skirt, her hips carried a toolbelt, filled with screwdrivers, pallets, and carving tools amongst other things. She would have been completely unapproachable if not for the cute bunny charm Hanging out of her coat pocket Her hair was a faded brown and harshly shaved close to her head, shaved on the sides and spiked up into a small fohawk. This girl also struck Hajime as extremely familiar.

"This is Koi Yunokawa, The Ultimate Toy Maker. She's brought joy to countless children around the world! Of all of the toys she's made every single one sold out on the first day. There are rumors that Toys R Us and Target have started a blood feud over her"

Yunokawa gives a big smile before nodding proudly. "I take great pride in my toys! I love nothing more than seeing children happy!" Yunokawa grinned as she went to take a step aside for the last girl.

The word innocent seemed to fit this girl perfectly. She had on a short sleeved dress shirt underneath a flowy, navy green sundress. She had on pure white stockings under her dress. Her hair was a soft brown, flowing down the center of her back, where the end of it was pulled into a navy green scrunchy. Her eyes were a gentle honey brown. Teeth perfectly aligned, and skin without a blemish. Her smile was patient as she waited to be introduced.

But a moment went by and Komaeda didn't say anything. Glancing over at him, Hajime noticed Komaeda looked… sicker than normal. His face paled and he took a few steps away from her, almost as if she carried some contagious disease. Eyes wild as he looked her over. "No! Keep her away from me!"

Hajime jumped. The reaction had been so unexpected. He reached out to grab panicked figure by the shoulder. "Nagito! What's wrong?"

"Yeijiro Hotta… please keep her away from me!" Hajime had heard a lot of eccentric things from the Lucky Student, but this, this was weirdly different.

"Calm down! She's just a little girl! Damn, I thought we were over this freaky ass phase of yours!' Souda spoke up, taking a step forward confronting the break down in front of him.

They all paused as Monokuma's laugh echoed behind them. Everyone turning to look at the evil bear with either a glare or confusion. "So, let's move on to the rules, kiddos!" He said, patting his waist as he looked everyone over. "Now, everyone pull out their eHandbooks!"

"What eHandbooks?" Shouted one of the kids from the crowd, Hajime easily pin pointed it as Umeko as the source of the voice.

Monokuma huffed, as if explaining it more than the gesture was just too much work. "Check your pockets! Do some problem solving on your own, would ya!"

There was a slight pause as everyone reached into their pockets. The devices were the size of large smart phones. The second they turned to look at it, the screens lit up, displaying their name above three other tabs. Hajime looked his over, reading over to see what the tabs read. _Rulebook_ , _Teachers_ , and _Students_. Monokuma continued the instructions as if it was some kind of tech demonstration, holding the handbook up for everyone to see. "Now, Please press the rulebook everyone and read over all of the Rules!"

Hajime swallowed. Many of the rules were the same as the previous killing game. Some were new. There were a few near the end of the list was most of the new rules. Hajime read them all over with a knot forming in his gut.

" _ **Rule 1**_ _Students may reside only within the school. Leaving campus is an unacceptable use of time._

 _ **Rule 2**_ _"Nighttime" is from 10 pm to 7 am. Students are allowed to go anywhere they'd like on Campus. However Teachers must stay in their dormitories during the night. A teacher leaving the dormitories at night will cause strict punishment!_

 _ **Rule 3**_ _With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore Hope's Peak Academy at your discretion._

 _ **Rule 4**_ _Violence against headmaster Monokuma is strictly prohibited, as is destruction of surveillance cameras._

 _ **Rule 5**_ _Anyone who kills a fellow student and becomes "blackened" will graduate, unless they are discovered._

 _ **Rule 6**_ _During a trial, teachers must also vote for who they think the killer is._

 _ **Rule 7**_ _During a trial, teachers can only talk to students in their assigned groups. Students in other groups cannot hear you._

 _ **Rule 8**_ _Only students in a teachers group has access to their rooms. All Teachers rooms are locked with a scanner that will read ones eHandbook._

 _ **Rule 9**_ _If a teacher's whole group dies, they will be punished._

 _ **Rule 10**_ _If a teacher breaks any rule, they will be sent through a Killing Minigame._

"What do you mean… Teacher's groups?"

Hajime looked up from the handbook. It had been one of the student's who had spoken. He turned to see Niijima, her handbook cupped in both of her hands like a brittle egg. Her eyes turned on the bear with massive worry.

Monokuma let out his trademark laugh before he pointed to a bulletin board near the stage of the gym. "Come take a look! Get in your groups and remember who's all there. And teachers," Monokuma started with a toothy grin on one side of his face, "try not to let your students down. Oh! And someone take Naegi to his room. Otherwise I might just punish him for fun!" With another sick laugh, Monokuma vanished into the ground.

Panic spread around the gym in seconds, the students yelling over each other as they tried to figure out what was going on. Some of the students with hands cupped over their ears as they trembled under the louder ones. Through the chaos,Hajime's gut turned as he reflected on what just happened. The panic of the students reminded him of when he had to participate in these games. The desperate cries were getting to him, his head started to spin and he swallowed hard. He didn't even see Gundham walk to the front of the room until his loud voice shot through the confusion, shutting everyone up instantly as they all turned their eyes to the man at the front of the Gymnasium.

"It is time to end your bickering, you weak mortals! When I call thy name, You will head to your master, Understood!" Gundham didn't wait for anyone to respond before going on to the list. "Carol, Sweeney, and Kusonoki, rejoice because you lowly creatures shall make a blood pact with me, The Great and Powerful Gundham Tanaka!"

Hajime watched as the students quickly headed to the man's side. Hajime couldn't help but notice the botanist's big smile as she ran over to her teacher. Gundham gave them all a nod before he continued on speaking. "Sato, Sugai, and Niijima, you're with the lowly mortal Kazuichi Souda! Although he is unskilled in the black arts,, over the years I have grown to trust this strange creature."

Souda grumbled under his breath as the students walked over to him, Obviously irritated by Gundham's comments, but as the students gathered around them, despite himself a grin spread across his face. Snickering slightly as he went into greeting them with more detail.

"Now, Bellerose, Kagabu, and Hotta, you're with the small demon with the claw growing out of his head on the ground. He is Dungeon master Makoto Naegi!" Those students awkwardly gathered around their passed out teacher. Hotta even bending down as she poked the teacher in the cheek, trying to wake him up. Hajime probably would laugh at the scene if he didn't feel a pit of anguish churning through his gut like a massive storm.

"Next up, Kentaro, Luna, Yunokawa, and Kaito, You're all with Hajime Hinata, a mortal who has surpassed the title of contemptible in my demon eyes."

Hajime watched as the students gathered around him. He gave an awkward chuckle and a wave. Giving them all short hellos before turning to watch Nagito walk over to the last three students.

"Looks like the last of you are unfortunately stuck with me," Komaeda started, running his hand weirdly over his wispy, white hair, "I will try my best to come close to the greatness that is your other teachers and i hope you are not too disappointed with me as your teacher."

Hajime went to interject, but was surprised when one of the students did it for , you look pretty cool to me, bro. Your jacket is pretty sick, ya know?" Koba said as he picked his skateboard off the ground. Hajime wasn't too from someone who dresses like that was really capable of a compliment at all. Koba moved his other hand up for a fist bump, to his new teacher. Komaeda just gave a quizzical smile.

"Ah! What kind words. Coming from someone as talented as you too! I almost can't believe it!"

Realizing that the fist bump wasn't happening, Koba lowered his hand as subtly as he could. To Hajime, the whole scene was painfully awkward.

Hajime rolled his eyes as he went to look at his own section of students. That's when his heart dropped, again. He was responsible for their lives. If they died, it was his fault. Hajime had had nightmares of being forced into another killing game, hell he still had the hopes that he might wake up and realize it was all a sick dream… But he knew that was unlikely. It was the same thing all over again. Hajime took a deep breath as he looked his students over. He knew that had to do all he could to protect them and end this game as quickly as possible.

No matter what it takes, Hajime would end this.


	2. Free Time is for Making Friends!

_**Report Card:**_ document/d/1Pk1GzSFZkke8zz1XWDwi6ucNEpMZkskaVMJztg6gDGw/edit?usp=sharing

{Just copy the link and paste in a new tab. This is s you can see all the characters and their groups.}

* * *

Hajime melted into the chair in his room, feeling emotionally drained at this point as the events from the day had truly started to take its toll on the teacher. With a disheartened sigh, he covered his face with his palms, Kusonoki himself drown in the darkness they provided. So far he had no idea how to handle the events that were taking place, no idea where to start and no idea how to end it. Monokuma made it sound like they had the power to stop the killings but, could their words ever really be powerful enough to stop murder? No, it didn't work like that… He knew that from his last killing game.

Slumping over more, Hinata decided to draw his attention away from the burden for awhile. Internally going over all the things they had learned about the school so far. There were two separate dormitories, one for students and one for teachers. The student's end contained a hallway filled with their rooms, a dining hall, a laundry mat, a trash incinerator and a set of bathrooms. Up the stairs was the teacher's dormitory. Here there was only their five rooms and a small storage room filled with dried snacks and bottled drinks. The rooms for the teachers' were a lot bigger than the students' rooms. Their beds were a lot larger, at least a queen size and they were pushed up against the back room. To the left of the room there was a door that led to a personal bathroom for each of them. In the very center there was a round table that could easily fit five people around it, meaning it was most likely the area was used to meet with their students in private.

Right now only the first floor was open, so exploring any higher was out of the question. But Hajime was unsure how they'd get to go any higher. Back on the island, Monomi had always opened up the way to a new location, though Makoto seemed pretty sure that access would be granted after the first school killing.

Hajime's mind drifted over to Naegi after the slight thought of him. Out of everyone the guy was obviously taking this the hardest. To be fair, this was his fourth killing game. That was something Hajime could never imagine going through. Makoto watched his friends kill each other, then watched Hajime and his friends kill each other, then, on top of that, was forced to play in another killing game with the Future Foundation. The man had been surrounded by death and destruction for so long. His life must have been getting better in the cushiony position of headmaster. But now? Now the man had been tossed head first into another killing game. One where he was forced to watch the students he was so excited to teach kill each other. That was devastating to say the least.

Ever since Makoto woke up, he's been locked away in his room. Hinata didn't blame him, especially since after exploring, Everyone else had all done the same. Maybe tomorrow everyone would feel a bit better, though no one would probably feel great, since they're all stuck in this horrible killing game. Right now, it was the only scrap of hope Hajime could hold on to so, with a sigh, Hajime stood to his feet. Stretching with a long yawn as he headed over to his bed, making one final note before climbing under the blankets. _Tomorrow he had to ask Komaeda why he freaked out the way he did._

In all of his years knowing Nagito, he'd never seen him react to a situation in such a way. He'd never really seen such disdain for an ultimate from him before, either. Nagito always bent over backwards for people with talents, saw them as something much superior than himself. Plus Komaeda had always been so glad to meet all the new students, so why this weird reaction all of a sudden? What possible talent could this girl have to freak Komaeda out in such a way? He had looked so afraid, as if whatever she could do was a threat to his very existence.

With a sigh, Hajime flicked off the lights and climbed into bed. The warm embrace of the comforter lulling him into a temporary sense of safety. The coziness of the bed made it a little easier to sleep. Tomorrow he would get to work on figuring out a plan, but for now he needed to regain some of his lost energy.

* * *

" _Gooooood Morning everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and Nighttime is officially over! Time to Rise and Shiiiiiine! Get ready to greet another Beauuuutiful day! "_

Himura dragged himself out of bed before cautiously looking around. For a moment, he'd almost forgotten where he was, that he was trapped inside this school no hope of escape. The room was still highly unfamiliar, the walls a jarring red and stuck out like a sore thumb. The door to his bathroom on the left hit the corner of his vision as he finally worked himself out of bed. All his limbs felt as if weights were tied to them, slowly dragging him into the ground like a sinkhole. He had to slowly work his clothes back on as the task felt rather encumbering. When he finally got dressed, he lazily tied the string of his apron in a messy knot, too drained to do it nicely.

With a frail voice, he let out a desperate gasp as he went to rub his face. "I… I need…" Desperation bubbled in his chest like boiling water, melting his insides as he knew exactly what he had to do. Clenching his fist as he knew the only thing that could lift this heavy feeling from his chest. Slowly he was coming to terms with everything that was going on. The thoughts hammering away in his head as his brain settled on his main objective. "I need to get my morning coffee!"

A small bit of energy powered him as he worked his way to the dining hall. Just the idea of getting a hot mug of coffee seemed to awake him from his comatose state. No one else had arrived yet as he made his way to the kitchen. Thankfully, there was more than one coffee machine, plus they had so many different kinds! Cappuccino, Pot, Drip Over,hell they even had a Moka! Quickly he got to work making his own large cup of coffee. The aroma wafted around him like a giant cloud of pure ecstasy. Sending familiar chills through his body as he finally pressed his parched mouth to the rim of the cup. The warm life potion poured down his dry throat saving his measly existence from a decaffeinated hellscape.

Himura mixed himself another cup when he heard a loud thud in the room behind him followed by a loud crack of laughter. The other students must have gathered in the dining hall by now. Guess it was time for the barista to join the his peers. With a low chuckle of his own, he grabbed the coffee pot by the handle, taking it out to the dining hall with him. Two cups of coffee was not enough, not even close to deal with the yelling in the other room.

When he walked out, not everyone was gathered in the room yet, but those who were there were crowded around a figure sprawled out over the floor. Himaru sipped his cup of coffee before strolling over to the crowd, setting the pot down to retrieve later. He cupped the warm cup in his hands as he looked over the scene in front of him. "What's going on?"

Sprawled out on the floor was Koba, his skateboard was gently rolling across the floor away from its owner. Koba himself was face down against the ground, a small pool of blood forming around his head. Ass up was a good way to describe his current situation as his spine was so very close to being perpendicular with the floor. Slight hand twitches showed signs of life in this wreck of a person.

"You missed the best part," Himura glanced down as Sweeney spoke up. He was tall enough to see the top of the other boy's head. Himura still couldn't get over how tiny the tattoo artist was. "The idiot rolled in here on his skateboard and fell immediately. The guy has no skill what so ever. What a sad excu-"

"You take that back!" Koba shot ups so fast blood sprayed across the floor, almost hitting Luna who was directly across from him. "I'm great at Sk8ing! You're just jealous that I'm so radical!"

"What?" Sweeney spat, for being so small, he sure had a lot of rage. "I've seen better skaters then you in a fucking preschool you dirty wood pusher!"

"Wood Pusher!" Koba scoffed, blood streaming down his face as it steadily dripped onto the ground below him. "Fucking take that back!"

Himura looked confused. Obviously Wood Pusher meant something different to him, but he doubted that he knew the ment context for it at this moment. His definition was a lot more...dirty. Yeah, he highly doubted that's what was meant by it, probably some weird skater lingo.

"Doesn't woodpusher refer to someone who's bad at chess?" Hotta paused as she folded her arms over her chest.

"Uuuhg! No! It's an insult for sk8rs!" Koba barked as he pulled himself to his feet. "Means we're just 'tendin to be cool. But I don't have to pretend because I am the Ultimate Radical Sk8r!"

Himura sipped his coffee as he watched the display. Personally, he found himself wondering if Koba's tooth gap was actually that or if he'd busted that tooth out performing his 'sick flips.' The thought was put on hold as his eyes were caught by the door to see as it swung open. Sato walked in, rubbing her eyes as she yawned loudly. Close behind her came Sugai. Looked like all the students had finally made it to the dining hall.

"Woah! What the fuck happened to your face?" Sato questioned as she squeezed her way into the large group gathered around Koba. She took one of her fingers and pressed it to her nose, signaling her attention on his currently busted nose. Every move of the Ultimate Racer was quick as if she didn't know how to slow down. "Did someone beat you up?"

" O! D-Did someone try to kill you?" Screamed Sugai from behind behind Sato, his large hands smashing his face between them as panic covered his large face. The loud boom of his voice shook the walls. Himura considered dumping hot coffee in his ears if it didn't stop soon. Himura couldn't help but wonder how anyone could find his shrieking voice motivational. "It's only been a day guys! Do you have no self control?"

Silence seemed to fill the room, some panicking as they remembered the rules for escape, others let off snickers at Sugai's stupidity. Himura decided it was his time to speak up, lifting his lip from the coffee cup before shaking his head slightly, causing his curly mocha hair to sway with him. "Put it on ice, Sugai, the guy just fell off his skateboard."

The quickness of Sugai's return to a quiescent demeanor almost gave Himura whiplash. He watched as the man smiled as if his previous fake out had only been a ruse. One of his big, meaty hands was raised, running through his black, greasy hair as he flattened any strands that may have come loose. "Hah! I knew that!" He barked again, Himura would never admit it, but he really wished the guy would lower his voice. "I was testing all of your resolves!"

A lot of the kids opened up their mouths to shoot down the obvious bullshit lie but Luna was quicker than all of them. "Wowie!" She started as pumped her fists in excitement, "What a Gentleman! How kind of you to consider us like that!"

Himura sipped his coffee as he prepared his ears for another ravaging. To his luck, Sugai's reign of terror was ended as one of the teachers pushed their way inside. It made him laugh a bit how tiny the guy was as both Sato and Sugai easily towered over him. The tiny teacher was dressed in a clean dress shirt and sweater vest, only adding to Himura's mental notes of the guy.

"Good, you all came to get breakfast together." Naegi said as he looked over all the students, "I'm glad you all can get a-"

Makoto's sentence ended as he made direct eye contact with Koba. The kid was still on the ground, holding his nose as blood escaped through his fingers. From where he stood, Himura could easily see the color fade from the teacher's face as beady drops of sweat began to drip from his head. Chuckles bubbled up from his throat as the whole scene unfolded. Way to freak out the teachers, Koba.

"Don't worry, Naegi-Sama, He just fell." Himura took a long drink from his cup, huffing as he reached the bottom. Looking inside of the cup instead of paying any attention to the teacher's reaction. "No one's been attacked." Without hesitation, he scooped the coffee pot off of the table and started refilling his cup.

"Oh, that's good to hear. Let's go get that nose cleaned up." Naegi said as he gently grabbed Koba's arm. "The rest of you, get to know each other. It's easier to make friends if you spend time with each other!" With that, Naegi pulled Koba out of the room. The wannabe skater looking a little reluctant as he was dragged out of the room.

Himura sipped quietly as he looked over the room. Now barista had some time to burn. Looks like it was time use up some of this free time. With a peppy smile from his third cup of coffee, Himura headed out into the hall.

Whistles poured from his mouth as he strolled down the hall. He had no particular attachment to anyone yet, they all just seemed like a bunch of weirdos to him so far. But he did enjoy the thought of making brand new friends. 16 whole people to befriend, the idea bubbled him up with joy as the idea of having so many people as friends filled his brain. So it was time to head to Naegi's advice, time to group together and make some brand new friends!

His eyes settled on a group of students near the exit of the residential hall. There was three of them huddled in a circle. Whispering to themselves as they giggled. Kagabu, Sweeney, and Bellerose didn't even glance over as Himura walked over and hovered above the entire group. Their eyes only turned up as the coffee maker opened his voice to talk. "Hey guys," He started with a slight wave, "What are you guys talking about."

"Oh," Bellerose started, giving a dismissive wave of her hand, "Just how incompetent everyone in this school seems to be!"

Himura gave a low, monotone chuckle as he wrapped both of his hands around his coffee cup. "Wow! I was just thinking the same thing. Should be pretty exciting, you know? Everyone seems like such interesting individuals!"

Kagabu let out a high pitched laugh. Himura swung his head to look at the small girl as she cackled harder. Her shiny orange nails flashed in the light as she pulled them over her mouth. "Woah, you are a real weirdo! Is that a whole pot of coffee? God, you reek as if you roll in coffee beans all day! Do you just drink that stuff constantly?"

"Wha- yeah. Why would I ever stop drinking coffee?" He was almost caught off guard. Why would it be weird to drink coffee all day? The comment felt like a personal attack, coffee was the best thing in the world! "Do you want a cup? I have a whole pot o' coffee to share." He remembered Kagabu's introduction from yesterday as he settled on the thought that he liked her better than the girl he was talking too right now. "You sure were a lot nicer yesterday, no offense."

"Nice?" Kagabu questioned as she crossed her arms, the shoulders of her blazer lifting up as she moved. "I wasn't nice! I was scared! This place is filled with strangers! I'm stuck in a weird school filled with all these offbeat characters!"

"You have a point," Sweeney said as he crossed his arms over his thin chest. "This isn't a very ideal situation for anyone."

Himura gave a nod. "You have a point there, but I'm just looking to find some friends, you know?"

"Well how about you look somewhere else?" Bellerose scoffed, glancing the boy over before her eyelashes fluttered in a hard eyeroll. With the bob of her head her tiny little chef hat bounced. If she wasn't such a jerk the movement would be endearing.

Himura paused and just stared over them for a moment. Why would he look somewhere else if there were decent friends right here? What did she mean, look somewhere else? He couldn't leave the school. He ended up just standing there with a blank look on his face. Once they realized he wasn't going to leave both of the girls scoffed and spun on their toes before they quickly created distance from Himura.

"Do I really smell like coffee? It must smell nice." Himura turned to the last person there. The short tattoo artist looked up at him expectantly. "Well, looks like I know who I'm spending my time with today."

"You really can't go bother someone else?" Sweeney asked, looking as if the idea of spending time with this guy was leaving a sour taste in his mouth.

"Aw, you really don't like me that much?" Himura sighed before taking another drink of his coffee, "But you don't even know me yet? Well I guess I don't blame you if you ditch me too."

Himura didn't leave right away, he stood there. Apparently that was enough for Sweeney since he didn't give him the boot like the others. Instead the two shared a few secrets of the jobs. Sweeney told of ways to keep clients from scarring. It was all really interesting stuff that Himura would probably forget in a few hours. But the time he spent with Sweeney was something he'd hold in his heart forever.

Afterwards Himura went to go back to his room but was halted on the way there by a sudden burst of color. Quietly he wondered why Koba had to wear so many colors at once, it was like a rainbow had eaten another rainbow then threw up on the guy. Personally Himura liked neutral colors like browns and tans, the colors you'd see in coffees. Oh! Pink was another color he was a fan of because it was just so inviting and soft.

"Yo bro," Koba started with a large grin, luckily his face was no longer soaked in blood. "You wanna see a sick Acid Drop?"

Himura waved a hand dismissively, taking a slight step back from the flashy scientist. 'I don't really think doing drugs is a good idea…"

No! Geeze do none of you squares know any sk8r lingo? Absolutely bogus." He gave a huff, pouting slightly in front of Himura, which made the mocha haired boy feel as if he hadn't had enough coffee yet to deal with this guy.

Thinking back on it, Himura felt like he never had enough coffee to deal with anything.

"How about I humor you, okay? Show me some of those Acid drips or whatever?" Himura's voice carried a friendly tone to it, as if offering kindness to this wannabe skater. It obviously sat well with Koba because the kid got the biggest shit eating grin Himura had ever seen. Tossing his board on the ground, Koba told him he wouldn't regret it before hopping on his board and instantly making Himura regret the whole situation.

The scientist tried to skate around the room but all the turns were choppy, the movement itself was slow, and he failed every flip. It was the most boring, talentless spectacle the barista had ever seen and frankly he'd watched paint dry once. Not by choice, though, he had to watch it to make sure no one sat on the wet paint… it was a very slow day at the cafe. Slap stick comedy might be something to gain from the scene that was unfolding but Himura had never found that kind of stuff funny. No, it wasn't even close to being real humor. Pouring himself another cup of coffee, Himura pulled up a chair and continued to humor his friend, watching closely enough that he didn't even see the other student walk into the room.

"Good Evening everyone." The voice carried like a song, pleasant to the ears and a delight to the palette… or was that a coffee maker making the first cup of the day? Either way, Hotta quickly strolled over to the sitting boy."You don't look like you're having a lot of fun."

Himura was glad to finally take his eyes away from the sad attempts in front of him to look over to his fellow student. Maybe she hadn't seen Koba's tricks yet because if she had she would understand Himura's pure boredom. Himura let his eyes scan over her for a moment, taking in her cute exterior and long, plush hair. She almost seemed like some weird kind of doll. He let out his flat chuckle before giving a light smile. "Yeah, not too much to watch when he can't even land correctly once."

Hotta paused and looked startled. "He couldn't even do it once? But… I thought he was the Ultimate Sk8r."

"Please don't say it like that. I can barely handle when he does it. And how could you ever fall for that? He's absolutely the w-" Himura felt like he was about to eat his words as he looked back to Koba for a second. A second was long enough for him to see him complete a flip… and then another… and another? What the hell was going on? Just a second ago he couldn't even-.

"He looks like he's doing fine to me." Hotta said with a smile. She didn't give Himura a chance to respond before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a medium sized, food bag. "Also I just happened to find these yesterday. I figured you'd like them, since you are the Ultimate Barista and all."

Himura felt his heart lift as he set down his coffee cup to lightly scoop the bag from her arms like it was some kind of newly born infant. The smell of chocolate and coffee washed over him like a powerful wave of the most beautiful substance in the world. He hated to admit it but he could feel drool roll from the corner of his lips as his mouth watered in pure anticipation. "Chocolate covered coffee beans? Thank you so much. This must be my lucky day."

Hotta giggled before giving a slight nod. "I'm really glad you like it. I just want us all to be friends." She took another step closer, gently putting her hand on his upper arm. Himura swore he saw her bite her bottom lip slightly. "I love making my friends happy."

Himura let put a genuine laugh as he hugged the beans like a long lost dog who had finally returned home. "Yeah! I'll definitely repay the favor sometime!"

Hotta patted his arm before leaning back. Himura caught a glimpse of something… almost making him feel as if he'd missed some important cue. Either way he didn't really care. He got fucking chocolate covered coffee beans. His whole week was now set in gold. The barista watched as Hotta left, letting his eyes wonder back to Koba the second she was gone from sight. Weirdly enough, Koba had went back to tripping over himself. Weird, his perfect landings must have just been some weirdly dumb luck. Pausing he saw Kagabu out in the hall. Looks like she had been watching Koba's tricks too. Weird, she didn't seem like the kind of person who enjoyed slap stick either.

* * *

When Himura finally got back to his room he paused outside the door. He couldn't help but notice the steady clicks on the ground behind him. When the barista turned and looked behind, Kaito was revealed as the source of the sound. "Strange…" He mumbled to himself as he glanced down at the guys boots. "Doesn't it get tiresome to wear heels all day? "

The actor stopped and turned to face his mocha haired peer behind them. Spinning around on his toes like you'd see in some kind of musical, his arm oscillated up as his palm spread out to cover his face. One of his piercing eyes peeking from between his fingers. Honestly, Himura would be a dirty maligner if he said he wasn't attractive.

"What's this? You Find me riveting, don't you? Please don't feel ashamed, I am quite the sight! The heels help with my walk of course! People like a bit of feminine step in their most glorious of men." His voice sounded just how you expected. Smooth and crisp, only saying the perfect words as his perfect lips curved over his amazingly straight teeth.

Himura nodded before awkwardly rubbing his neck. "Oh! That does make sense. But doesn't that hurt your ankles?"

"Please," Kaito elegantly proclaimed with a large grin. He quickly dropped his arms down to his side with precision. His every movement carried decisiveness and importance. "This heel is fairly minor, I've worn heels so big they can kill a man." Kaito gave a wave and Himura could barely read the slight tiredness behind it. "Well I'm going to head to bed, sweet dreams coffee boy, I need my eight hours of sleep so I don't get dark circles."

Huh… Coffee boy? Sounded a little weird, but he'd take it, never really had a nickname before. "You too, Kaito. Sleep well. I hope you get as much sleep as you need."

With a final sigh Himura finally went into his own room for the night. Right when he walked in the Nighttime Announcement rang through the room. Himura yawned as he ignored it , took off his apron and flop into bed. Tired eyes tried to impulsively close and Himura couldn't decide if it was from the amount of people he'd talked to today or if it was because he'd stopped drinking coffee for the day. Either way, it was a sign to go to sleep for the night. With a long yawn, Himura slipped under the sheets, letting a deep sleep take over him.

* * *

Hajime had spent the entire day trying to get Komaeda to talk to him, but for some reason, the other teacher seemed to refuse to cooperate. No matter what he did, the other man wouldn't open his bedroom door all day. He knew Komaeda could easily keep himself locked up for hours, that was a fact he didn't doubt, but why? Maybe the killing game had really taken a toll on the guy? Still, that didn't make sense either. Nagito never hid away from such things, he had always been ready to take problems on in his own way. So now that he was locked up… it was strange.

Hajime finally got Nagito out of his room during Nighttime. Right after the dormitory doors locked, Komaeda was out in the teacher lobby, eating quietly by himself. Hajime slipped into the seat closest to him, leaning in a bit as he was greeted by that usually, breathy voice.

"Hey Hajime."

"Hey Nagito," Hajime started as he looked his friend over. He looked fine but that was never enough to know if the white haired man was okay. He knew Nagito was an excellent faker. "What's been up with you today?"

"What do you mean Hajime?" Komaeda asked as tilted his head. "Don't I always act strange?"

"You know what I'm talking about, Nagito." Hajime said as he leaned in more, trying to make contact with those glossy, pale green eyes of his. "Why would you lock yourself in your room all day? That's not like you. In a situation like this, you would be exploring." Hajime saw a shot of worry swipe across his face. It only lasted a moment but Hajime saw it, he knew something was wrong. "You can tell me what's wrong, Nagito. I'm your friend."

"Oh Hajime, you have such bad tastes in friends." Komaeda said as he stood to his feet. "Why did you ever make friends with a worthless heap like me." Komaeda took the rest of his food with him as he headed back to his room.

"Nagito!" Hajime said as he followed after him. "Don't just brush this off, I'm worried about you."

Komaeda had his bony fingers locked around the door knob. Hesitating before Hajime heard his breathy voice barely carry over. "I'm afraid… Hajime…"

Hajime didn't have the time to question it further before Nagito locked himself back in his room. Fear was a rational response to what was going on… the problem was, Nagito was never a very rational person.

* * *

Sleep had always been a wistful idea, Unnecessary, since it had never been a fan of Himura. Even before his horrible addiction to caffeine, sleep was always evasive to him, an impossible idea that always slipped through his fingers like boiling coffee. Every time it escaped him it felt like like he'd been punished for trying to catch a glimpse of it. Even when he got a little bit of sleep it seemed like they were distorted and twisted nightmares that didn't make any sense except for the feeling of self loathing that would pile up in his chest like some kind of time bomb. One day it would explode, but luckily today was not that day.

Scooping his hairbrush from the floor, Himura quietly got to work. Brushing out his hair with a soft sigh. The mindless task parked his train of thought in other places. The things Monokuma had told them all bounced around in his head like a carousel. If they wanted to leave this place, they had to kill another student. The bear had said it like the task was simple. The batista doubted anyone would do it on just that because who would ever want to leave Hope's Peak? Who would be stupid enough to kill for something so simple? They didn't even have classes! How much better of a school life could they ask for?

Sliding his beanie over the back of his head, Himura stood to his feet. He wasn't going to sit here and waste his time being groggy. If there was no relief from sleep then he was going to get that relief from coffee! He gradually made his way down to the kitchen, dragging his feet as he made his way down the hall. Nothing really caught his eye, the halls seemed dimmer than normal, most likely due to how late at night it was. No one was around, of course, the rest of them probably knew how to sleep.

Inside the dining hall it was eerily empty. It almost felt as if no one should be in here at night. Weird that they didn't need to lock it off or anything, especially since there were so many weapons in the kitchen. When he finally got to the coffee machine, Himura quickly got to work making himself a tall mug of coffee.

He hesitated when he heard movement behind him. Slow, quiet footsteps, as if the culprit was used to making muted steps. He felt his back muscles instantly tense. Was someone here to kill him? The steps were so slow, quiet except for the weak creeks that bounced off of them, almost unnoticeable. The barista felt too nervous to turn around, deciding if the person wanted to kill him he'd just let them do it.

"Woah! Is that Coffee?" Suddenly the quiet steps led into a loud, boisterous voice. "Could you make me a cup?"

"Sure thing," Himura glanced back for a second before pulling out another mug and getting to work, "Kusonoki."

He decided this one had to look nice, since it was going to someone else. Working quickly he poured in the cream with a quick wrist and a dash. Like a waterfall of white sweetness as it hit all the right spots within the darker elixir. Mind targetting something the investigator would find delightful, which was surprisingly easier than guessing for most people who appeared at the cafè. With a pleased grin he handed her the finished treat, only to find himself filled with even more pleasure as she let out a loud laugh.

"There is a spirit living in my cup," She said before giving it a long drink, "but to my surprise, it's a warm spirit!" Her black lips moved over her pale teeth in excitement as she obviously enjoyed her specially made cup of coffee. Delight sparkled in her eyes as she gulped down the dark substance.

Himura chuckled as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm glad you like it! Maybe next time I can make you something cold, that way it really is like a ghost!" He paused as he scooped up his own cup, moving to sit back in the dining hall. Luckily Kusonoki trailed behind him, cradling her coffee cup in her ghostly hands. Himura took a seat before looking over at Kusonoki again. "What are you doing up so late? Can't find the will to sleep either?"

"I always have the will to sleep!" Kusonoki said with a manic grin that spread from ear to ear. "I only need four hours of sleep a day! Spirits are most active during the night! How can I fight spirits if I spend all my time sleeping when they're awake!"

Himura let out a weak chuckle before sipping his coffee. Everyone here felt so eccentric, which was such a great change of pace from his boring, old cafè. "That's a really good point, you can't sleep through all of your business hours!"

"Precisely! I would allow my enemy to have the upper hand if I rested for too long! It would make me vulnerable."

Kusonoki smiled before taking a large swing. The two continued to talk, though the conversation mainly consisted of the barista listening to the girl talk about all the spirits she'd seen over the year. Himura was pretty skeptical about it, especially when she talked about all the photos she'd taken… They all looked really fake. But he didn't bring that up, she had to be an Ultimate for a reason. When their conversation was over, Himura offered to take her cup back to the kitchen to wash it up.

At the sink, Himura noticed someone didn't do a really good job of cleaning it out. There were weird flakes of stuff in the sink. Himura took it in for another moment because, frankly, it obviously wasn't the residue of some kind of food because of how bright of an orange it was. The crud almost came across like some kind of paint. Pushing it aside, Himura felt like he couldn't use the sink with it in this condition, instead he put the Kusonoki's cup next to the sink, filled his cup back up with that dark, dreamy nectar before leaving the glanced at the black lipstick stain on the cup as he went to leave, making another mental note to come clean it up in the morning. When he got back, he noticed Kusonoki was gone. She must have went back to her room for the night. Himura took the hint as he strolled back to his own room as well.

* * *

Himura and the others were all gathered once again in the dining room. Himura scanned over the lot of them. _1... 2... 3... 4..._ Himura started to count them off, scanning the group to get everyone in the room. _8...9...10...11….12...13…_ Himura almost didn't notice the group bunched up in the back corner. _14….15…_ Wait… only 15? Himura rescanned the room, making sure to count himself this time, just incase he hadn't last time. _13...14...15… Huh?_ Weird. Like really weird. He swore there were 16 students before. He rubbed his jaw in thought because he couldn't recognize all of their faces yet, so even if one was missing, he'd never be able to pinpoint here. _Oh well, guess they'll be missing out on breakfast, their loss._

Bellerose had made a large breakfast for all of them. Elegantly cut potatoes and a perfectly made Omelette for each of them. It seemed like a lot of work but the Ultimate Chef brushed it off like it was nothing. Everyone sat down to eat, some carrying idle chatter with each other as they got to work. Around Himura was a few people he recognized but one strange thing did catch his eye. Kagabu's bare shoulders were visible and a lot smaller than Himura had imagined. Weird, guess the blazer really did make her look a bit bigger than she really was. The barista honestly didn't care much for her fashion choices anyways, he was more interested in breakfast. Himura felt the omelette paired with his morning coffee was a literal dream come true. Paired together it was amazing, tongue tingling sensation that ran through his entire body. He almost didn't notice as the teachers came in, well all the teachers except his own.

"It's really great to see you all eating breakfast together." Makoto said, a hopeful tinge to his voice as he walked over to the table. "I'm so glad you're all getting along."

Bellerose chuckled and strolled over as she patted a round table next to the long one the students resided. "I made you all breakfast as well. "

Makoto seemed even more pleased as he walked over. "Thank you! How very kind of you."

Hajime paused before scooping up one of the plates. "I'll go take Nagito his plate, I don't think he'll be coming down anytime soon." Hajime didn't wait for a response and quickly left the cafeteria.

All the teachers sat down for breakfast, digging into the food with big grins. Soon after Hajime came back, joining them all in idle chatter. Halfway through breakfast, there was a slight problem as Himura overheard the teacher's talking through his own silence.

"Hey, Naegi?" the scratchy voice of Souda caught his attention first, "How many kids did we start with?"

He could hear the pause in Naegi's actions, almost as if he could hear the headmaster's pause to think. "16?"

"Well…" Souda started as he shifted in his chair, "there's only 15 right now."

The clatter of Naegi's fork seemed to silence half the cafeteria. The other half shut up when Naegi jolted to his feet. "Wh-who's missing?"

"Hotta isn't here." Luna piped up from her seat as she looked over at the teacher. "She never came to breakfast. I figured she decided to sleep in today… Is it a problem that she skipped?"

Everyone was staring at the headmaster, Himura could feel the sudden heaviness in the room as confusion seemed to rock through the students once more. The air thickened as if it was becoming a heavy smog. They all could see the sweat form on his forehead, rolling down his face as the skin underneath it paled. What was so bad about missing breakfast?

Makoto swallowed hard as he started to walk out the door. His hands were trembling as he went to leave the dining hall. "I-I need two people to come with me…" His voice sounded dull as it lacked the previous upbeat demeanor. He didn't wait for anyone to get up before he jolted out of the room.

No one seemed to stand up right away. Himura groaned as he pulled himself to his feet. Guess he would volunteer. The second he stood up, Kusonoki followed his lead. The two students hurrying out of the room and moving quickly to catch up with their headmaster. The small figure was standing in front of Hotta's door, not moving. Making a glance at each other the students walked up behind their headmaster. Kusonoki was the first to speak.

"Her doors open! Why are you waiting?" She took a few steps forward before pushing the door open and heading inside. "The spirits will us to enter! They must have opened it for us!"

Himura watched as the teacher didn't take a step inside. He didn't saw a word as he pushed his way inside. Glancing back at the statue of a man as he looked around the room. Everything seemed like his own bedroom. The walls a weird red, the bed pushed up against the right wall, a door to the ba-. When his eyes focused on the door he felt like a weird wave of dread wash over him. He didn't move, just stared at the dark crack of the door. Watching as shadows seemed to pulsate between the door and the wall.

He jumped slightly when Makoto cut off his line of sight. The headmaster had finally moved, now his hand was slowly pulling the door open. Creaking filled the thick air as it carried the ominous sensation with it. With a step inside, the light switched on, and the smell of iron filled the air.

Before Himura got a good look, Naegi fell back, covering his mouth as tears streamed down his face. The reaction caused both of the students to draw closer to the scene.

...Now he truly regretted volunteering his time…

The first thing that caught his eyes was an eye straining pink. It dug into the back of his head, staining into his memory as his eyes tried to understand what was infront of him. The once cute, doll like girl, was pressed against the back of the shower, her soft dress was now almost completely pink, all around a gaping black hole pressed into the girl's chest. Blood leaked from between the girl's soft lips, drizzling down her jaw as her eyes seemed to blankly stare at Himura.

He could hear gagging from behind him as Kusonoki saw the body. The sounds of her scrambling away was easy to hear. Kinda wondered what upset her more… the smell or the sight itself. Twisted sobs echoed through the room as Naegi broke down, obviously trying to regain himself. As for Himura, he just stood there, staring as thoughts pumped through his brain like oil through a machine.

" _A body has been discovered!"_

Slowly he turned to face the monitor in the other room. Gazing over as the bear slowly sipped his wine.

" _Investigation is now underway! Gather all the information you can and prepare for the Class Trial!"_

Himura put his eyes back onto the murder in front of him. Yeijiro Hotta was dead, her body destroyed in such an unpleasant manner. Gut churning, he took a deep breath. Looks like he was wrong. Looks like the promise of escape was more than enough to kill.


	3. One Bloody Mess and a Note

**_Truth Bullets:_** document/d/18KHWAdzNEeY1dvF8yG_rcGHL2NsXLvGg0xfam9up7FM/edit?usp=sharing

 _ **Report Card:**_ document/d/1FFmuJd8xKO8lkVWvMuNzG68Bx29e0ktpKIDdKdOBrzk/edit?usp=sharing

* * *

Everyone seemed crammed close inside the elevator. Himura couldn't help but think they could do with less people in this elevator. The teachers stayed near the entrance as if it was an attempt to safeguard the students from any horror that might swarm in when they reached the bottom. Himura knew that they couldn't protect them, not without the identity of the killer. Without that knowledge none of them were safe. And from the looks of it, at least one of them wouldn't be getting back on this elevator.

Naegi was so pale, the teacher looked like he could collapse at any moment. Himura didn't even notice he was staring until the teacher gave him a slight glance. The two made eye contact for a moment as Himura watched as his teacher slowly regained the color in his face. A sudden fountain of light seemed to spring behind the headmaster's eyes. Himura felt… strange as the teacher slowly seemed to join the living.

Himura could barely hear the faintest breath escape the teacher's trembling lips. "I have to stay strong… for the students…" The words seemed to carry some strength behind them, something that Himura couldn't quite wrap his head around. But either way he felt his blood pump faster as he turned his eyes back to the elevators gate, watching as the cement wall raced around them. The walls appearing as if they were blasting upwards around them.

It was jarring as the elevator finally hit it's goal, everyone stepping out to nervously look over the room around them. Everything was strange and nothing really made sense. There were small pedestals all arranged in a circle, one had a picture frame behind it, lifted up with a photo of Hotta on it… The pink cross over her face was quite jarring.

All of the teachers hesitated. Staring forward for a moment as their eyes seemed to work to take everything in. Fear seemed to wash over their faces, subtle in some but vivid in others. _They must remember a place like this_ , Himura thought, _they must have some kind of idea what horrors lie ahead for us here._

The teachers all went to take a step forward but were cut off as Monokuma sprung from the ground below them. Souda let out an audible yelp as he jumped back a few paces. Monokuma responded with his devious laugh.

"Where do you think you're going?" Monokuma's question was directed towards the teachers as he waved his fist at them.

"There's no reason to toy with us," Hajime tested the bear with a slight glare, "we all know how this works."

"Did you forget already? The rules are different for you guys!" Monokuma laughed more before his paw shot towards a spiral staircase in the corner. "Teachers will be heading that way!"

"But h-" Makoto had started to speak but the bear wasn't putting up with it.

"Go! You've already wasted my time enough. Head up the stairs so we can start!"

The teachers took a moment to glance over each other, finally sighing before heading up the stairs. Eventually the climbed up to the top, disappearing behind a door and vanishing from their students gaze. Well, there goes the comfort of having their support during this trial.

Himura didn't even realize he was staring at the door until he felt something cold dropped into the palm of his hand. He looked down just in time to see Monokuma moving to the next student in the group. The thing had dropped a small, green piece of plastic into the palm of his hand. Himura brought it up to his face to look at it closer, pausing as he realized it was a small earpiece. Looking around he saw everyone's earpiece was color coded to their groups. Souda's group was pink, Tanaka's was purple, Hinata's was red, and Naegi's was yellow. Without hesitation, Himura pressed the piece into his right ear.

"Now, each of you received a special headpiece. Get in nice and tight in your ears so we can get this trial started!" Monokuma lead all of the students to their seats, Himura was internally grateful he didn't have to stand next to the dead girl's portrait. He did, however, have to stand next to the Ultimate Stock Trader, who was to his left, and the Ultimate DJ, who was to his right. He also wasn't too sure how he felt that Kaito was directly across from him… He really wished the actor had wore a shirt now.

Now that you're all in your seats," Monokuma continued as he perched himself into his throne like chair, "I can finally review the rules of the trial with you all!"

Everyone turned their attention to the bear as Himura could feel the nerves bunch up in his gut. This was what he'd been preparing for but now that it was actually happening, Himura wasn't sure if he could handle it. Taking a quick glance around at the other students he wasn't too sure if they could handle it either.

"Now, the rules are simple. One of you killed one of your classmates. This person is called the Blackened. Your job is to find out who dunnit. If you figure it out, only the Blackened Student will be punished… Buuuuuuut if you guess wrong everyone except the Blackened will be executed and the Blackened can leave the school!" Monokuma took a moment, Himura imagined it was to take a break. Did robots even need to breath? "Now your teachers have special headpieces to talk to all of you. Teachers can only speak to students within their own groups. So if your teachers say something that sounds important it's up to you to get the word around! Now that the basics are out of the way we can get started!"

There was a moment of silence among the group as they all looked over each other. Maybe they were trying to figure out who would talk first. Each and every one of them was obviously hoping another would speak up first. Himura wanted to start but he was unsure of wear to take it first. He hesitated as the room felt it was spinning. The energy in the room suddenly spiking as the first person spoke up, carrying other voices with it.

"We all know who the killer is," The deep hum of Yunokawa's voice carried over the group, "everyone who actually investigated the room knows Kobayashi is the killer."

Shock washed over the accused's face as Koba hugged his skateboard to his chest. "Me? Why would you ever think it was me!"

"We don't think!" The Ultimate Racer spoke up next, pointing her finger at the scientist with determination covering her face. "We know you're the killer!"

"Woah," Himura started, confused by how sure these two were. "What makes you all so sure?"

"Yeah!" Koba looked like he might break into tears as he hugged his skateboard tighter even tighter to his chest. "You can't blame this in me with no evidence!"

"We have evidence." Yunokawa calmly stated, looking forward to meet the boy's gaze. She seemed so sure as her broad jaw moved with her words. "There was a note found at the scene of the crime. _**The note was from you and it asked Hotta to meet you at the time she was murdered!**_ "

Himura felt something pulse with those words… Something didn't match up correctly with them. She seemed so sure though, but it didn't feel like she was lying. No, that wasn't it at all. Himura had seen the note as well but something about it felt off. Maybe now was the time to speak up about it. Looking around he noticed everyone staring at the scientist. They all looked at him as if he still was covered in blood. They looked at him as if they knew he did it. The barista could already sense how easily his fellow students' ideas would sway. Yeah, it looked as if it was time for Himura to interject.

"I think you're wrong." Himura started, pausing to take a long drink of his coffee. "I don't think that note's nearly strong enough evidence to convict him of murder."

"What?" Yunokawa seemed surprised he'd denied her words, "You must have not seen the note! It was obviously from him."

"So what you're saying is that Koba wrote this note before she was killed and used it as means to get into her room?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying."

Himura couldn't hold back the slight chuckle that bubbled up from his throat. The toy maker only looked more offended by his laugh as Yunokawa's muscles seemed to tense as her hard eyes glared over at the barista. Her face just made him laugh more.

"Wh-What's so funny?" Yunokawa questioned, leaning over her station, "Are you just glad it's over so quickly?"

"No, you just fell for that trap so easily." Himura slowly shook his head as he went to awkwardly rub the back of his neck. How embarrassing for her to fall for such an obvious trick. "The note was obviously faked."

"Faked?" Kagabu spoke next, she looked annoyed as she raised one of her perfectly manicured hands in front of her mouth. "What makes you think it's fake?"

"For one," Himura started as he recalled the exact contents of the note, "As someone who's actually spent time with the Ultimate Cytologist, he would never write so… formally… He always abbreviates words that shouldn't be shortened. Also Koba I have a question for you."

The Ultimate Cytologist spoke up immediately, pumping one of his fists into the air. "Throw it down for me, Boy!"

Himura paused and just stared at Koba for a moment as he tried to get past how everything that came out of the scientist's mouth was just so ridiculous. "What would you do if I said you needed help being cool?"

"Help bein' cool!" Koba barked as he tossed his skateboard onto the ground. "I don't need help being cool! I'm the coolest guy here! I'm cooler than all ya because I can sk8!"

Himura smiled and slowly turned back to look at the toy maker. "Now do you see why the note is fake? He'd never ask for help to be cooler… his head is too far in the clouds to realize how uncool he really is."

Yunokawa looked like she had taken a blow from this realization. She bit her lip for a moment before finally letting out a long, drawn out sigh. "Fine, you win. Looks like you're right. But why else would someone write this note?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Himura said as he went to take another long sip from his cup. "It was to frame Kobayashi for the killing, of course!"

Koba suddenly looked startled, as if someone had just threatened to kill him. Well, in a way they really had tried to get him killed. "Wh-Why would someone do that? Why would anyone try to blame the murder on me?"

"I thought that would be the easiest part to understand." Himura was surprised to see Kentaro, the Ultimate Vegan, speak up this time. "If we all vote for the wrong person then they get to go free. They probably thought you'd be easy to blame for this."

"That makes sense," Bellerose spoke up, her arms tightly crossed over her chest, "you do seem like an easy target."

Koba huffed as he grabbed his skateboard again, hugging it back towards his chest like some kind of stuffed animal. He looked worried for a moment before looking around as if he heard something close by him. Himura would be much more confused by the gesture if he didn't hear the breathy voice of their teacher in his ear as well.

"I'd suggest moving the conversation to the murder weapon." Komaeda started, his voice sounded as clear as day over the mic, "I believe that will lead to who the killer really is."

Himura glanced over at Koba for a moment as he remembered they were in the same class. He gave a quick glance to the other person in their group, Eguchi, and she gave a slight nod. So they were the only ones who could hear Komaeda. Himura had almost forgotten about him since the line had been so quiet until now. Maybe his teacher didn't feel as if he needed help figuring this out, that he was doing an amazing job on his own.

"So we can all agree that's enough with the note, right? I think it's time to move on to-"

"Wait just a second!" Kagabu interrupted, putting up one of her fingers to wave in the barista's direction. Her painted blue nail flashing slightly in the bright light of the trial room. "Just because it's written differently doesn't mean we can fully dismiss it! Just because he talks weird it doesn't mean he writes the same way too!"

"Do you have proof to back this up?" Himura questioned, raising one of his eyebrows as he puzzled over the idea.

"Uh, no." Kagabu groaned as she twirled her hair around one of her fingers. "But you don't have proof that he writes the same way he talks either!"

"Well you got me there!" Himura sighed as he covered his face with his palm. "I can't prove anything about the writing. But there is more to the note that proves it couldn't have been written before the murder."

"Wha-!" Iris piped up from her spot, looking over the barista with wide eyes. "What else does the note say?"

Himura shook his head slowly before he let his slim grin slide back across his face. "It's not what the note says, it's something else that's on the note."

"But what else is on the note other than words?" Iris asked, tilting her head slightly as the puzzled look moved to take over her soft face. Her hat looked like it was going to fall off onto the ground with her head position to the side like that.

"Blood," Yunokawa spoke up again, her voice faint at first and slowly picking it's strength back up, "I remember there being drops of blood on the corner of the paper." She paused for a moment as if she was listening to a voice Himura was unaware of. She must have been listening to her own teacher for a moment. Her eyes grew wide with shock for a moment as she swallowed hard. "The fact that there's blood on it means it had to have been written after the murder."

"Bingo!" Himura congratulated her as his thin lips pulled up over his teeth to widen his grin. His reaction seemed to make her look more disgusted, though. ""So can we finally move on to the next part?" Himura looked around as no one seemed to object at first. However when he opened up his mouth again, he was immediately cut off.

"That's not entirely true!" Kentaro exclaimed as he cupped his hands together, his messy hair tumbling out of it's bun shaped prison as he moved. "There was one of us who was bleeding before the murder."

"Koba was bleeding. I remember he hurt his nose. It was a real big mess." Eguchi spoke up this time, her voice was monotone as if she wasn't really interested in what was going on. "Are you saying he could have bled on the note then?"

Kentaro nodded and Himura couldn't help be disgusted by his mess of tangled hair as it flopped around on top of his head. "It's a possibility!"

Himura didn't hold back the giant groan that escaped from his lungs in his annoyance. "Nope, still impossible." He ran a hand up to adjust his hat on his head as he caught a few of the glares from the other students. "This note would have been written long after that incident."

"How could you possibly know that?" Kagabu was really testing him at this point. "What makes you so sure it _**had to have been written after he busted his nose**_?"

Himura let the sneer show again as he went to cover his face from the embarrassment of his fellow peers once again. "Because this letter is specifically referring to _**a situation that happened long after that nose bleed.**_ "

"Oh yeah?" Kentaro flipped his palm upwards as a look of disgust crossed his face. "What makes you so sure?"

Himura let out another sigh as he went on to explain it in more detail. "Later that afternoon, Koba was showing me a bunch of his 'tricks.' He missed every single one until Hotta showed up. When she was there he could land every single one."

He could hear Sweeney inhale deeply for a moment as the artist seemed to puzzle over the matter. Looking around, it seemed everyone had stopped to consider this factor. With a moment of hesitation it seemed as if most of the other students agreed with his logic. Honestly, it was about time, Himura really just wanted to move on.

"So…" Niijima's voice was a whisper, quiet and easily unnoticed. "Why is the murder weapon so important to the case?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kentaro spoke up next as he gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "The murder weapon was missing from the scene. _**So whoever has it is the killer.**_ "

"Don't be stupid," Sweeney grunted from his place, "No one would _**carry the weapon around with them**_!"

"Well where else would they put it?" Kentaro shot pack, glaring over at the tattoo artist as if objecting his thoughts was unfathomable. " _ **There's no where else they could have put the weapon!**_ "

Jeeze, Himura felt as if none of these people had actually investigated the murder. The barista imagined that the vegan hadn't even seen what killed the girl. "It's actually pretty obvious where they put the knife." Himura spun his hand around as he leaned on his personal stand. "And no one is carrying a knife around on them."

"Oh yeah?" Kentaro snapped back, looking aggressive now that Himura was challenging him. "Well where else could the knife be?"

"Well it's in the kitchen knife holder, of course!" There was a loud, audible gasp from a couple of the students. Some of them just looked scared but others, like Bellerose, looked disgusted at the idea. There was quite the uproar over the subject so Himura decided to just continue on with his point. "If someone had the knife on them or even if they hid it, then there would be a huge flaw in the evidence surrounding the case. THe knife holder was full before we all headed down to this trial."

"He's right…" Bellerose spoke up from her position, a fist wrapping tight around the front of her shirt. "When I started cooking this morning all the knives were there."

"Well was one bloody?" Iris spoke up as her hand moved to tilt the edge of her sunhat over her face. "If it was then that one was the murder weapon."

Bellerose shook her head. "There wasn't any visible blood. No, the killer wasn't that stupid to stick a bloody knife back into the holder. Don't you remember what I told you Iris?"

The small botanist looked up from underneath her sunhat. Giving a slightly puzzled look as she stared at the other girl. But after a moment the Botanist's face lite up as she seemed to remember the chef's account. "You told me that one of the knives were wet in the morning! So does that mean someone washed a knife and put it back to air dry?"

Himura let off a slightly dismissive laugh before giving a slow nod. "yes, that's exactly it! You're finally catching up!"

"You don't have to be so condescending to her," Yunokawa snapped at the coffee maker with a slight glare, "we all have to work together if we want to figure this out."

"Anyways," Was Himura being rude? If he was he didn't even notice, "if we figure out who washed the knife then we know for sure who the killer is!"

"I know who the killer is!" Iris spoke up again, jumping with joy as confidence seemed to radiate off of her. "The killer has to be whoever left the cup in the kitchen! The one with the black lipstick!"

"Well who wears black lipstick?" Asked Kusonoki as she pressed one of her fingers against her black lips.

"No one except you." Yunokawa said as she crossed her thick arms over her chest.

Kusonoki paused a moment, her eyes scanning over her peers as she realized they were all staring at her. Sweat started forming on her ghastly pale skin as she slowly came to the realization of what was being implied. Himura was the only one in the room who wasn't blaming the ghost girl. Guess Himura should have said something about the coffee cup. _My bad._

"I-I didn't kill her!" The investigator shouted as she cupped her face between her pale hands. "I only vanquish spirits!"

"Is that so?" Kentaro rumbled as a prissy look covered his face. "You need proof, Sweetie, we can't believe you on your word alone."

"She's telling the truth," Himura lifted up his coffee cup with a slow sigh, "I was the one who left the cup next to the sink. But you're so close to seeing the actual evidence of the killer. Just think a little harder and you'll see it. There was something else in the sink last night. You had to have seen it, right Bellerose?"

Bellerose paused, glancing around as everyone's gaze turned on her. She pressed one of her fingers to her bottom lip in thought. Her eyes growing wide as she slowly reached what Himura already knew. "Are you talking about the orange stuff in the sink?"

"Yes! That evidence gives away exactly who the killer is!" Himura said as he slowly scanned the room. "They were in such a rush they didn't even clean the sink right! They left their nailpolish behind!"

"But why would they be rushing?" Eguchi asked, her fake fangs flashing in the room's light. "If they acted more carefully then they wouldn't have left it behind."

"Well, that's the big question, isn't it?" Himura stated as he gave a large shrug. "Why would they be rushing? Why so scared that their _**luck**_ would run out? To answer this, I think we all need to answer another big question surrounding the victim. Does anyone know what Yeijiro Hotta's Ultimate talent?"

Himura could see everyone's face contort as they muddled over the question. Sugai rubbed his thick jaw with one of his meaty hands. Yunokawa ran her fingers through her gelled hair as she seemed to glance around the room. Even Bellerose seemed stumped as she hunched over slightly, messing with her ponytail as she dug through her own thoughts. Himura's eyes finally landed on Koba, who seemed unphased by this detailed question. _Maybe he was waiting for everyone else to figure it out? How sa-_

"Isn't it obvious?" Koba's voice cut off Himura's thoughts, drawing the boys brown eyes back up to the obnoxious mass of colors that made up Kobayashi. "Girl was the Lucky Student."

"And what makes you think that?" Sugai questioned, finally speaking up from his place inside the crowd. He was probably embarrassed at his lack of contributions this entire discussion.

Koba's brows perked as he gazed around over his fellow students. The usually ridiculous looking mess of a kid suddenly seemed to look puzzled by his friends current behavior. "Are ya'll pullin my leg? It doesn't take a genius to figure that out."

"It must," Himura started as he ran his fingers through his bangs, "Not even I have figured that out yet."

"We all know Kobayashi is an idiot." Kentaro huffed, glaring over at the wannabe skater. "He just guessed! There's no evidence-"

"Oh no there's plenty of evidence so how about you shut up for once." Himura was not a big fan of the vegan right now. Saying people were only guessing yet that's all he's been doing this entire discussion. "Maybe we would have been better off if you'd never opened your mouth. You keep just spewing out garbage that misleads the entire class! So how about you just shut up."

There was a moment of silence as Kentaro stood their in shock. The vegan's face looked startled, as if Himura's words had stabbed him like a knife. Either way, the coffee maker was glad he finally shut up. "Now, back to the important stuff." Himura looked at Koba with a smile. "Our scientist friend has got it right on the dot. Hotta was the Ultimate Lucky Student of our class. Now, Kobayashi, do you know what was so special about our Lucky Student?"

Koba nodded, his hat bouncing slightly on his head. "Yeah, so far all the Lucky Students luck has affected them in diff ways. Our adept headmaster Naegi-Sensei is lucky but it's very minor and random. Then we have our wicked teach Komaeda-Sensei whose luck runs in wild cycles of stellar and atrocious luck. Hotta had her own sick twist to her luck as well. Hotta's luck affected everyone around her! She made everyone else super lucky."

There was an audible gasp from most of the students. Most of them were surprised by this discovery. They glanced around at each other in surprise. All of them except one seemed taken aback by this discover. They were sweating… Yes, this just confirmed they were the killer, just as Himura had suspected. Wonderful, looked like this case was almost over. It was time to finally reel this ending in to it's big finale.

"Why does that even matter?" Kagabu snapped, the dirty look on her face snapping back and forth between the skater and the barista. "Her Ultimate has _**nothing**_ to do with this case!"

"She's right," Eguchi spoke up, her dull eyes looking over to stare down Himura, " _ **What does that have to do with this case**_?"

"Oh, nothing much," Himura started as his shoulders bobbed with a shrug, "it's just the last thing we need to finally wrap up this case. But that's all."

"Shut up! You freak!" Kagabu shouted, pounding her fist against the wood in front of her. "All you've done is run that shitty mouth of yours! There's no way someone would just kill using the help of luck!"

"I beg to differ." Himura said as a shit eating grin slowly started to trickle over his lips, "Luck may not be the reason but it was a big help for the killer. Hotta's luck decided who the victim was, got them into Hotta's room and even helped them a little bit afterwards Hotta even died!"

"But luck has its limits." He could hear the ring of Komaeda's voice in his ear. "It had to run out sooner or later and when good luck leaves…"

"Bad luck usually follows.." Himura said, finishing off his teacher's droning sentence. "I know who the killer is now. There's no doubt in my mind anymore. There's only three people here who had the information needed to put together Hotta's special talent. Me, Kobayashi, and-"

" **SHUT UP!"** Kagabu screamed as she pounded her fist harder against the wood. Looked like she had finally reached her breaking point as sweat fell down her face like a waterfall. Her pupils were dilated and her hands were trembling. Her skin seemed to lose all color as she screamed more. "These are all baseless remarks that your caffeine addicted ass keeps spewing as if you have no sense of direction!"

Himura paused, staring at ther as her hair seemed to pull it's way out of her ponytail, strands falling in front of her enraged face as her teeth gritted together. He took it in for a moment before bursting into a loud laugh. "Is that so? Man, aren't you desperate! Guess it's time to prove that you're the killer, huh, Masako Kagabu?"

"Wh-What?" Iris yelped from her place, covering her hand over her mouth in surprise as her eyes widened. "You better have evidence! You can't just accuse out friends of murder."

Koba pauses before clearing his throat. "No, he's got evidence. He wouldn't be throwing all this shit down if he didn't have the stuff to back it up. He doesn't work like that."

"I can give you the evidence," Himura relaxed for a moment as he went to sip at his coffee before continuing with the trial. "So let's go back to the stuff in the sink. Wanna tell us what that is, Kagabu?"

"Why the h-"

"Okay, don't play along, I can do do both roles." Himura slowly set his coffee cup down on his personal stand as his eyes slowly turned back up towards to look at Kagabu. Targeting her as he continued to speak. "It was nailpolish, specifically it was Kagabu's nail polish. On the day of the murder you had bright, orange nails but now, now they're blue."

"AH! That's not a stable piece of evidence! People change their nail color all the time!" Kagabu was snapping more and more by the second, her fists clenching as she tucked her nails into the palm of her hand to try and hide the blue nails. But everyone had already seen them. Saito seemed the most startled by this new piece of evidence.

"Hay! You let me paint ya nails on the first night! I can't believe you changed them already! I know my paint is cheap but it still hurts my feelins!" Saito touched her hand to her chest, her expression turning to faintly hurt.

"Even better!" Himura said with a large grin. "It would be illogical for you to repaint them so soon… Unless they chipped. Actually it makes even more sense why you didn't repaint them orange now! You didn't have access to the orange paint without being suspicious so you chose one from your own arsenal."

Kaito suddenly piped up, drawing Himura back to the boy's bare chest. Damn, he'd done so well ignoring it until now. But it definitely shut Himura up for a few moments as he took the time to count the freckles on his chest. "If she washed the blood off the knife that was when she chipped the nail polish! She must have been scrubbing really hard to make it break off so much."

"Y-Yeah." He had stopped at around forty when he dragged himself back into this boring trial. "That's exactly what happened… good job."

Kaito had a rose up to his face in the next moment as his teeth went to gently bite his bottom. "Of course! I see where you're going with this! She stole the knife from the kitchen before Nighttime!"

"And we know this because Kaito saw the knife was missing before Nighttime," Himura continued with his explanation, trying to get ahold of himself again. "But it was back again before midnight. I propose the knife was put back shortly after -"

"This has gone far enough!" Kagabu's voice sounded strained. Her eyes were wild as they stared Himura down with determination… almost with a killer's intent. "How do we know the murder didn't happen later! _**The killer came in during the middle of the night!**_ While the victim was asleep! I was in bed by then! S-Saito saw me go to bed!"

"I did!" Saito spoke up, looking determined. "I say Kagabu leaving the laundry room around midnight!"

"Wrong!" Himura piped up as he pointed his finger at the stock trader. "I mean, you probably really saw her, but the statement on the killing happening during the middle of the night, that part is wrong. There's evidence it happened before she went to bed. Her bed was completely made so she hadn't went to bed yet."

"B-But-" Kagabu scattered to try and put another argument together. "W-Well I-"

"Plus she was in her pajamas… she was just about to go to bed." Himura kept going, ignoring the girl's words even further. At this point they were almost pleads for Himura to turn the other cheek. Too bad Himura wanted to finish this. To finish this for his fellow students. For his friends. "There was no forced entry, Hotta let the killer in and invited her into her bathroom where the killer stabbed her with one hard thrust."

"But… why Hotta?" Finally the small seamstress spoke up, a sad look crossing her round face. "Why kill Hotta? There had to be a reason? There had to be a motive!"

"Hotta was picked because she made everyone around her lucky…" The feeling started to weigh down on him as the realization dawned on him. "She made everyone else around her lucky… so when Kagabu picked a victim… Hotta had the least amount of luck." What a way to go. The fact that she protected her peers from certain death. Weird how that worked out… weird and sad.

"Kagabu just wanted to get out of the school. She didn't care who she killed… so she just picked at random. Since Hotta made us more lucky… she got to be the special choice. " Himura sighed as the room grew silent. Seemed like everyone was taking this all in.

" _ **If I killed her I would have blood on me!**_ "

"...What?"

"You heard me!" Kagabu yelled this last objection even louder than before. She glared over at the barista with a ghastly look. "This is my only blazer! If I had killed her it would have blood on it."

"You won't let this go, will you?" It was Kaito to speak next as the actor had pulled out the monocle from his pocket once more. "You washed it! It's a dark color so blood just comes right off!"

"You even were missing your blazer this morning…" Saito said as she put her hand over her mouth. "You said… it had to finish drying…"

"I-"

"With the help of luck, you didn't run into anyone with your bloody jacket or knife. You got to clean it all without being caught. But then, sadly for you, the luck ran out, you got caught in the laundry in the room. You couldn't get your clothes until the morning because you knew Kaito might see you if you came back."

"N-"

"Listen, just admit it. Just say 'I killed Yeijiro Hotta.' There's no reason to deny it anymore. We all know you're the killer." Himura let the smile slide back onto his face.

"S-"

"Sounds like you've all reached a conclusion!" Monokuma's voice caused Himura too jump a bit. He had been so focused on this trial he had forgotten about the bear listening in on the entire thing. "Now everyone cast your vote! Make sure you're positive! We gotta kill the right people!"

Himura grabbed his coffee cup back off the stand as he got to work. Dragging his finger over to Kagabu's name before sending in his vote. This was it, he had discovered the killer. He would be lying if he said he didn't find some kind of thrill in it all. Murder mysteries had always been so much fun! Figuring out who the killer was, piecing together the evidence into coherent ideas.

They all turned to see the wheel spin, finally landing on the cute art of their stock trader friend. Looked like it was finally over. Everyone stepped away from their stands as they looked around. The first trial was over, they had discovered the killer among their peers. That was enough for Himura. He was glad it was over before he heard the loud steps that came from the stairs behind the group. Himura turned slowly to watch as Naegi ran up to the group. Facial expressions twisted with shock as he hurried over to the students.

"W-Why would you kill one of your students like that?" Makoto cried out, his voice carried a tune that sounded as if he'd asked this question too many times. "She was one of your classmates!"

"N-No she wasn't" Tears had started to bubble in the corner of Kagabu's eyes. The large droplets breaking over the rim before pouring down her red cheeks. "None of you are my classmates! This isn't my school I need to leave!"

"Aw, what a crybaby!" Monokuma walked up next to Kagabu before patting the girl's calf. "You're not a very good killer."

"Y-You leave her alone!" Makoto shouted, Himura could see the tears as they built up in the corner of the teacher's eyes. "You let everyone go and you let us leave!"

"You know that's not how it works." Monokuma gripped onto the girl's ankle as a dark force seemed to wrap around him. "Now, Everyone get ready! It's Punishment Time! Who's ready to see the execution of the Ultimate Stock Trader?"

No one looked away as Monokuma yanked the girl's leg out from underneath her, causing her to hit the ground with a loud thud. She let out a loud gasp as her sobs broke into a pained whimper. Monokuma dragged her over to a chain, clasping it around her ankle before the girl was dragged into darkness. Shortly after she vanished something lite up across the trial grounds. Through the panel of glass they could see it…

 **Class Execution of Masako Kagabu**

 _ **Backed up work**_

 _The room took a second to come into view. It was an office, personal desks rested quietly around the perimeter of the room. Everything was silent in the dull overhead lights. A loud hiss was heard as a blinding light shot down on the middle of the room. Kagabu was tied to an office chair. She was struggling slightly as she tried to break the thick ropes around her body. The struggle was meaningless. No one could break free from those ropes._

 _A deafening hum broke through the sickening silence like a warning sign. A siren to let everyone know the true show was about to begin. The first one shot out like a white smear across their vision. The object had barely hit the tied up stock trader but they all could easily see the slice across her cheek as bright pink leaked down her face. Her eyes dilated in pure terror as she suddenly started to panic. Right then there was another one shot out, slicing her jaw as it just barely missed her neck._

 _She made eye contact for a moment… she screamed for help. Then it began to rain down on her in an endless stream. White smudged across the view in a sudden storm of it all. The room was soon splattered with pink as each one took a bite at the stock trader. After a second of the horror show enough of them had piled onto the ground so that everyone could make out what they were. They all watched as the blood soaked papers slowly fluttered to the ground. The blobs of pink staining the white as they dug into the girl's skin with vicious intent. The blood slowly staining the paper as it fluttered to the ground._

 _Within seconds Kagabu was drowning i the stuff that was killing her, the papers piled up to her neck as she bled out in all that white and pink. Blood streamed down her face in heavy currents as she gasped for air, her mouth wide as she tried to suck in as much air as possible. Cuts littered the visible parts of her body as her neck and face poured out that eye hurting pink. The fear in her eyes screamed for the others to help her, but even more that that, they resembled the soul of someone who had completely given up on the idea of life. Someone who knew they'd never see the sun again… Never take another breath…_

 _The papers stopped suddenly. It was irrupt, jarring even as a loud creaking could be heard overhead. Kagabu slowly raised her head, afraid to look at what the cause of the sound may be. One last scream escaped the bloody mess of a girl as a large pile of papers were dropped from above… crushing her flat underneath as blood splattered onto the glass separating the living and the dead._

Himura jumped as the blood splatted onto the glass. Slowly taking a step away as his students started panicking around him. Himura's body refused to move as he heard sobs around him. The source of each was… indeterminate as he felt the area around his vision grow dark, almost as if he could only see so much. His hands were shaking as he gripped his coffee cup tighter to try and stop it. So many emotions washed over him all at once. Regret, sadness, desperation, anger, hate, envy, they all stabbed into him like a knife. Himura didn't even realize he was laying on the ground until his peers' voices buzzed in his ear like flies.

"Himura died too!" Screamed the tiny seamstress from somewhere in the room. "No! This can't be happening!"

"Himura," The next voice was shaky as he felt a hand on his side. It was big… or small… was it really a hand? The barista was slowly melting away as nothing seemed to come together in a sensible thought. "Are you okay? Can you walk."

He opened his mouth to talk but words just poured out as an empty gasp. He didn't even bother to close it as more words poured out. "I….I killed….I…."

 _I killed her,_ that was what Himura was thinking, _I figured this case out. It was fun to me. I'm disgusting. I killed her. I killed Kagabu. I killed Masako Kagabu._

"Can you carry him?" _Kaito… that was the actor who spoke next...right?_

"Easily." _Toy...maker…._

Himura felt as if he was being lifted off the ground. Maybe he was being taken to another plane of existence. Maybe he'd learn to fly… or maybe he hadn't moved at all. The sudden warmth that engulfed his cold skin made him tremble. He muttered the same words over and over. _Killer killer killer I'm a killer I killed her. Killer Killer Killer…"_

"He looks like he's gonna vom!" _Koba… the fake skater was somewhere close._

A voice cut through everything for a moment. A wisp in the cold air that surrounded the barista. A voice that he could understand before everything went dark.

"Good job Kazuki Himura! You helped save the entire class! We're so proud of you."

Himura couldn't really think about it as the darkness at the edges of his vision finally seemed to take their reign over his body. A whimper escaped his lips as everything went dark. This was the end of the class trials… it wasn't a game and it wasn't fun. Why had he been so entertained before.

 _...It was for the greater good…_ He kept his classmates safe… he hadn't been selfish… he didn't do this just for this for himself, for the thrill of the mystery. He remembered the original reason why he'd been excited to come down here… To prove himself to everyone… to make his peers safe and gain their friendship… Was that selfish? Was he selfish… They were all thoughts that clouded his mind as the dark took away even his thoughts.

 _Was it worth it…?_

* * *

 ** _::Author's Notes::_**

 _Hey, I only realized recently that was removing all the breaks between perspective changes so I'm sorry about that! Also I appoligize because I'm more used to AO3 so I need to start making my own notes for each chapter. Anyways I fixed each document up and they all should have the needed breaks so they're easier to understand! Sorry for the mistake!_


	4. The First Time is Always the Hardest

**_Truth Bullets:_** document/d/18KHWAdzNEeY1dvF8yG_rcGHL2NsXLvGg0xfam9up7FM/edit?usp=sharing

 _ **Report Card:**_ document/d/1FFmuJd8xKO8lkVWvMuNzG68Bx29e0ktpKIDdKdOBrzk/edit?usp=sharing

* * *

Everyone seemed crammed close inside the elevator. Himura couldn't help but think they could do with less people in this elevator. The teachers stayed near the entrance as if it was an attempt to safeguard the students from any horror that might swarm in when they reached the bottom. Himura knew that they couldn't protect them, not without the identity of the killer. Without that knowledge none of them were safe. And from the looks of it, at least one of them wouldn't be getting back on this elevator.

Naegi was so pale, the teacher looked like he could collapse at any moment. Himura didn't even notice he was staring until the teacher gave him a slight glance. The two made eye contact for a moment as Himura watched as his teacher slowly regained the color in his face. A sudden fountain of light seemed to spring behind the headmaster's eyes. Himura felt… strange as the teacher slowly seemed to join the living.

Himura could barely hear the faintest breath escape the teacher's trembling lips. "I have to stay strong… for the students…" The words seemed to carry some strength behind them, something that Himura couldn't quite wrap his head around. But either way he felt his blood pump faster as he turned his eyes back to the elevators gate, watching as the cement wall raced around them. The walls appearing as if they were blasting upwards around them.

It was jarring as the elevator finally hit it's goal, everyone stepping out to nervously look over the room around them. Everything was strange and nothing really made sense. There were small pedestals all arranged in a circle, one had a picture frame behind it, lifted up with a photo of Hotta on it… The pink cross over her face was quite jarring.

All of the teachers hesitated. Staring forward for a moment as their eyes seemed to work to take everything in. Fear seemed to wash over their faces, subtle in some but vivid in others. _They must remember a place like this_ , Himura thought, _they must have some kind of idea what horrors lie ahead for us here._

The teachers all went to take a step forward but were cut off as Monokuma sprung from the ground below them. Souda let out an audible yelp as he jumped back a few paces. Monokuma responded with his devious laugh.

"Where do you think you're going?" Monokuma's question was directed towards the teachers as he waved his fist at them.

"There's no reason to toy with us," Hajime tested the bear with a slight glare, "we all know how this works."

"Did you forget already? The rules are different for you guys!" Monokuma laughed more before his paw shot towards a spiral staircase in the corner. "Teachers will be heading that way!"

"But h-" Makoto had started to speak but the bear wasn't putting up with it.

"Go! You've already wasted my time enough. Head up the stairs so we can start!"

The teachers took a moment to glance over each other, finally sighing before heading up the stairs. Eventually the climbed up to the top, disappearing behind a door and vanishing from their students gaze. Well, there goes the comfort of having their support during this trial.

Himura didn't even realize he was staring at the door until he felt something cold dropped into the palm of his hand. He looked down just in time to see Monokuma moving to the next student in the group. The thing had dropped a small, green piece of plastic into the palm of his hand. Himura brought it up to his face to look at it closer, pausing as he realized it was a small earpiece. Looking around he saw everyone's earpiece was color coded to their groups. Souda's group was pink, Tanaka's was purple, Hinata's was red, and Naegi's was yellow. Without hesitation, Himura pressed the piece into his right ear.

"Now, each of you received a special headpiece. Get in nice and tight in your ears so we can get this trial started!" Monokuma lead all of the students to their seats, Himura was internally grateful he didn't have to stand next to the dead girl's portrait. He did, however, have to stand next to the Ultimate Stock Trader, who was to his left, and the Ultimate DJ, who was to his right. He also wasn't too sure how he felt that Kaito was directly across from him… He really wished the actor had wore a shirt now.

Now that you're all in your seats," Monokuma continued as he perched himself into his throne like chair, "I can finally review the rules of the trial with you all!"

Everyone turned their attention to the bear as Himura could feel the nerves bunch up in his gut. This was what he'd been preparing for but now that it was actually happening, Himura wasn't sure if he could handle it. Taking a quick glance around at the other students he wasn't too sure if they could handle it either.

"Now, the rules are simple. One of you killed one of your classmates. This person is called the Blackened. Your job is to find out who dunnit. If you figure it out, only the Blackened Student will be punished… Buuuuuuut if you guess wrong everyone except the Blackened will be executed and the Blackened can leave the school!" Monokuma took a moment, Himura imagined it was to take a break. Did robots even need to breath? "Now your teachers have special headpieces to talk to all of you. Teachers can only speak to students within their own groups. So if your teachers say something that sounds important it's up to you to get the word around! Now that the basics are out of the way we can get started!"

There was a moment of silence among the group as they all looked over each other. Maybe they were trying to figure out who would talk first. Each and every one of them was obviously hoping another would speak up first. Himura wanted to start but he was unsure of wear to take it first. He hesitated as the room felt it was spinning. The energy in the room suddenly spiking as the first person spoke up, carrying other voices with it.

"We all know who the killer is," The deep hum of Yunokawa's voice carried over the group, "everyone who actually investigated the room knows Kobayashi is the killer."

Shock washed over the accused's face as Koba hugged his skateboard to his chest. "Me? Why would you ever think it was me!"

"We don't think!" The Ultimate Racer spoke up next, pointing her finger at the scientist with determination covering her face. "We know you're the killer!"

"Woah," Himura started, confused by how sure these two were. "What makes you all so sure?"

"Yeah!" Koba looked like he might break into tears as he hugged his skateboard tighter even tighter to his chest. "You can't blame this in me with no evidence!"

"We have evidence." Yunokawa calmly stated, looking forward to meet the boy's gaze. She seemed so sure as her broad jaw moved with her words. "There was a note found at the scene of the crime. _**The note was from you and it asked Hotta to meet you at the time she was murdered!**_ "

Himura felt something pulse with those words… Something didn't match up correctly with them. She seemed so sure though, but it didn't feel like she was lying. No, that wasn't it at all. Himura had seen the note as well but something about it felt off. Maybe now was the time to speak up about it. Looking around he noticed everyone staring at the scientist. They all looked at him as if he still was covered in blood. They looked at him as if they knew he did it. The barista could already sense how easily his fellow students' ideas would sway. Yeah, it looked as if it was time for Himura to interject.

"I think you're wrong." Himura started, pausing to take a long drink of his coffee. "I don't think that note's nearly strong enough evidence to convict him of murder."

"What?" Yunokawa seemed surprised he'd denied her words, "You must have not seen the note! It was obviously from him."

"So what you're saying is that Koba wrote this note before she was killed and used it as means to get into her room?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying."

Himura couldn't hold back the slight chuckle that bubbled up from his throat. The toy maker only looked more offended by his laugh as Yunokawa's muscles seemed to tense as her hard eyes glared over at the barista. Her face just made him laugh more.

"Wh-What's so funny?" Yunokawa questioned, leaning over her station, "Are you just glad it's over so quickly?"

"No, you just fell for that trap so easily." Himura slowly shook his head as he went to awkwardly rub the back of his neck. How embarrassing for her to fall for such an obvious trick. "The note was obviously faked."

"Faked?" Kagabu spoke next, she looked annoyed as she raised one of her perfectly manicured hands in front of her mouth. "What makes you think it's fake?"

"For one," Himura started as he recalled the exact contents of the note, "As someone who's actually spent time with the Ultimate Cytologist, he would never write so… formally… He always abbreviates words that shouldn't be shortened. Also Koba I have a question for you."

The Ultimate Cytologist spoke up immediately, pumping one of his fists into the air. "Throw it down for me, Boy!"

Himura paused and just stared at Koba for a moment as he tried to get past how everything that came out of the scientist's mouth was just so ridiculous. "What would you do if I said you needed help being cool?"

"Help bein' cool!" Koba barked as he tossed his skateboard onto the ground. "I don't need help being cool! I'm the coolest guy here! I'm cooler than all ya because I can sk8!"

Himura smiled and slowly turned back to look at the toy maker. "Now do you see why the note is fake? He'd never ask for help to be cooler… his head is too far in the clouds to realize how uncool he really is."

Yunokawa looked like she had taken a blow from this realization. She bit her lip for a moment before finally letting out a long, drawn out sigh. "Fine, you win. Looks like you're right. But why else would someone write this note?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Himura said as he went to take another long sip from his cup. "It was to frame Kobayashi for the killing, of course!"

Koba suddenly looked startled, as if someone had just threatened to kill him. Well, in a way they really had tried to get him killed. "Wh-Why would someone do that? Why would anyone try to blame the murder on me?"

"I thought that would be the easiest part to understand." Himura was surprised to see Kentaro, the Ultimate Vegan, speak up this time. "If we all vote for the wrong person then they get to go free. They probably thought you'd be easy to blame for this."

"That makes sense," Bellerose spoke up, her arms tightly crossed over her chest, "you do seem like an easy target."

Koba huffed as he grabbed his skateboard again, hugging it back towards his chest like some kind of stuffed animal. He looked worried for a moment before looking around as if he heard something close by him. Himura would be much more confused by the gesture if he didn't hear the breathy voice of their teacher in his ear as well.

"I'd suggest moving the conversation to the murder weapon." Komaeda started, his voice sounded as clear as day over the mic, "I believe that will lead to who the killer really is."

Himura glanced over at Koba for a moment as he remembered they were in the same class. He gave a quick glance to the other person in their group, Eguchi, and she gave a slight nod. So they were the only ones who could hear Komaeda. Himura had almost forgotten about him since the line had been so quiet until now. Maybe his teacher didn't feel as if he needed help figuring this out, that he was doing an amazing job on his own.

"So we can all agree that's enough with the note, right? I think it's time to move on to-"

"Wait just a second!" Kagabu interrupted, putting up one of her fingers to wave in the barista's direction. Her painted blue nail flashing slightly in the bright light of the trial room. "Just because it's written differently doesn't mean we can fully dismiss it! Just because he talks weird it doesn't mean he writes the same way too!"

"Do you have proof to back this up?" Himura questioned, raising one of his eyebrows as he puzzled over the idea.

"Uh, no." Kagabu groaned as she twirled her hair around one of her fingers. "But you don't have proof that he writes the same way he talks either!"

"Well you got me there!" Himura sighed as he covered his face with his palm. "I can't prove anything about the writing. But there is more to the note that proves it couldn't have been written before the murder."

"Wha-!" Iris piped up from her spot, looking over the barista with wide eyes. "What else does the note say?"

Himura shook his head slowly before he let his slim grin slide back across his face. "It's not what the note says, it's something else that's on the note."

"But what else is on the note other than words?" Iris asked, tilting her head slightly as the puzzled look moved to take over her soft face. Her hat looked like it was going to fall off onto the ground with her head position to the side like that.

"Blood," Yunokawa spoke up again, her voice faint at first and slowly picking it's strength back up, "I remember there being drops of blood on the corner of the paper." She paused for a moment as if she was listening to a voice Himura was unaware of. She must have been listening to her own teacher for a moment. Her eyes grew wide with shock for a moment as she swallowed hard. "The fact that there's blood on it means it had to have been written after the murder."

"Bingo!" Himura congratulated her as his thin lips pulled up over his teeth to widen his grin. His reaction seemed to make her look more disgusted, though. ""So can we finally move on to the next part?" Himura looked around as no one seemed to object at first. However when he opened up his mouth again, he was immediately cut off.

"That's not entirely true!" Kentaro exclaimed as he cupped his hands together, his messy hair tumbling out of it's bun shaped prison as he moved. "There was one of us who was bleeding before the murder."

"Koba was bleeding. I remember he hurt his nose. It was a real big mess." Eguchi spoke up this time, her voice was monotone as if she wasn't really interested in what was going on. "Are you saying he could have bled on the note then?"

Kentaro nodded and Himura couldn't help be disgusted by his mess of tangled hair as it flopped around on top of his head. "It's a possibility!"

Himura didn't hold back the giant groan that escaped from his lungs in his annoyance. "Nope, still impossible." He ran a hand up to adjust his hat on his head as he caught a few of the glares from the other students. "This note would have been written long after that incident."

"How could you possibly know that?" Kagabu was really testing him at this point. "What makes you so sure it _**had to have been written after he busted his nose**_?"

Himura let the sneer show again as he went to cover his face from the embarrassment of his fellow peers once again. "Because this letter is specifically referring to _**a situation that happened long after that nose bleed.**_ "

"Oh yeah?" Kentaro flipped his palm upwards as a look of disgust crossed his face. "What makes you so sure?"

Himura let out another sigh as he went on to explain it in more detail. "Later that afternoon, Koba was showing me a bunch of his 'tricks.' He missed every single one until Hotta showed up. When she was there he could land every single one."

He could hear Sweeney inhale deeply for a moment as the artist seemed to puzzle over the matter. Looking around, it seemed everyone had stopped to consider this factor. With a moment of hesitation it seemed as if most of the other students agreed with his logic. Honestly, it was about time, Himura really just wanted to move on.

"So…" Niijima's voice was a whisper, quiet and easily unnoticed. "Why is the murder weapon so important to the case?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kentaro spoke up next as he gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "The murder weapon was missing from the scene. _**So whoever has it is the killer.**_ "

"Don't be stupid," Sweeney grunted from his place, "No one would _**carry the weapon around with them**_!"

"Well where else would they put it?" Kentaro shot pack, glaring over at the tattoo artist as if objecting his thoughts was unfathomable. " _ **There's no where else they could have put the weapon!**_ "

Jeeze, Himura felt as if none of these people had actually investigated the murder. The barista imagined that the vegan hadn't even seen what killed the girl. "It's actually pretty obvious where they put the knife." Himura spun his hand around as he leaned on his personal stand. "And no one is carrying a knife around on them."

"Oh yeah?" Kentaro snapped back, looking aggressive now that Himura was challenging him. "Well where else could the knife be?"

"Well it's in the kitchen knife holder, of course!" There was a loud, audible gasp from a couple of the students. Some of them just looked scared but others, like Bellerose, looked disgusted at the idea. There was quite the uproar over the subject so Himura decided to just continue on with his point. "If someone had the knife on them or even if they hid it, then there would be a huge flaw in the evidence surrounding the case. THe knife holder was full before we all headed down to this trial."

"He's right…" Bellerose spoke up from her position, a fist wrapping tight around the front of her shirt. "When I started cooking this morning all the knives were there."

"Well was one bloody?" Iris spoke up as her hand moved to tilt the edge of her sunhat over her face. "If it was then that one was the murder weapon."

Bellerose shook her head. "There wasn't any visible blood. No, the killer wasn't that stupid to stick a bloody knife back into the holder. Don't you remember what I told you Iris?"

The small botanist looked up from underneath her sunhat. Giving a slightly puzzled look as she stared at the other girl. But after a moment the Botanist's face lite up as she seemed to remember the chef's account. "You told me that one of the knives were wet in the morning! So does that mean someone washed a knife and put it back to air dry?"

Himura let off a slightly dismissive laugh before giving a slow nod. "yes, that's exactly it! You're finally catching up!"

"You don't have to be so condescending to her," Yunokawa snapped at the coffee maker with a slight glare, "we all have to work together if we want to figure this out."

"Anyways," Was Himura being rude? If he was he didn't even notice, "if we figure out who washed the knife then we know for sure who the killer is!"

"I know who the killer is!" Iris spoke up again, jumping with joy as confidence seemed to radiate off of her. "The killer has to be whoever left the cup in the kitchen! The one with the black lipstick!"

"Well who wears black lipstick?" Asked Kusonoki as she pressed one of her fingers against her black lips.

"No one except you." Yunokawa said as she crossed her thick arms over her chest.

Kusonoki paused a moment, her eyes scanning over her peers as she realized they were all staring at her. Sweat started forming on her ghastly pale skin as she slowly came to the realization of what was being implied. Himura was the only one in the room who wasn't blaming the ghost girl. Guess Himura should have said something about the coffee cup. _My bad._

"I-I didn't kill her!" The investigator shouted as she cupped her face between her pale hands. "I only vanquish spirits!"

"Is that so?" Kentaro rumbled as a prissy look covered his face. "You need proof, Sweetie, we can't believe you on your word alone."

"She's telling the truth," Himura lifted up his coffee cup with a slow sigh, "I was the one who left the cup next to the sink. But you're so close to seeing the actual evidence of the killer. Just think a little harder and you'll see it. There was something else in the sink last night. You had to have seen it, right Bellerose?"

Bellerose paused, glancing around as everyone's gaze turned on her. She pressed one of her fingers to her bottom lip in thought. Her eyes growing wide as she slowly reached what Himura already knew. "Are you talking about the orange stuff in the sink?"

"Yes! That evidence gives away exactly who the killer is!" Himura said as he slowly scanned the room. "They were in such a rush they didn't even clean the sink right! They left their nailpolish behind!"

"But why would they be rushing?" Eguchi asked, her fake fangs flashing in the room's light. "If they acted more carefully then they wouldn't have left it behind."

"Well, that's the big question, isn't it?" Himura stated as he gave a large shrug. "Why would they be rushing? Why so scared that their _**luck**_ would run out? To answer this, I think we all need to answer another big question surrounding the victim. Does anyone know what Yeijiro Hotta's Ultimate talent?"

Himura could see everyone's face contort as they muddled over the question. Sugai rubbed his thick jaw with one of his meaty hands. Yunokawa ran her fingers through her gelled hair as she seemed to glance around the room. Even Bellerose seemed stumped as she hunched over slightly, messing with her ponytail as she dug through her own thoughts. Himura's eyes finally landed on Koba, who seemed unphased by this detailed question. _Maybe he was waiting for everyone else to figure it out? How sa-_

"Isn't it obvious?" Koba's voice cut off Himura's thoughts, drawing the boys brown eyes back up to the obnoxious mass of colors that made up Kobayashi. "Girl was the Lucky Student."

"And what makes you think that?" Sugai questioned, finally speaking up from his place inside the crowd. He was probably embarrassed at his lack of contributions this entire discussion.

Koba's brows perked as he gazed around over his fellow students. The usually ridiculous looking mess of a kid suddenly seemed to look puzzled by his friends current behavior. "Are ya'll pullin my leg? It doesn't take a genius to figure that out."

"It must," Himura started as he ran his fingers through his bangs, "Not even I have figured that out yet."

"We all know Kobayashi is an idiot." Kentaro huffed, glaring over at the wannabe skater. "He just guessed! There's no evidence-"

"Oh no there's plenty of evidence so how about you shut up for once." Himura was not a big fan of the vegan right now. Saying people were only guessing yet that's all he's been doing this entire discussion. "Maybe we would have been better off if you'd never opened your mouth. You keep just spewing out garbage that misleads the entire class! So how about you just shut up."

There was a moment of silence as Kentaro stood their in shock. The vegan's face looked startled, as if Himura's words had stabbed him like a knife. Either way, the coffee maker was glad he finally shut up. "Now, back to the important stuff." Himura looked at Koba with a smile. "Our scientist friend has got it right on the dot. Hotta was the Ultimate Lucky Student of our class. Now, Kobayashi, do you know what was so special about our Lucky Student?"

Koba nodded, his hat bouncing slightly on his head. "Yeah, so far all the Lucky Students luck has affected them in diff ways. Our adept headmaster Naegi-Sensei is lucky but it's very minor and random. Then we have our wicked teach Komaeda-Sensei whose luck runs in wild cycles of stellar and atrocious luck. Hotta had her own sick twist to her luck as well. Hotta's luck affected everyone around her! She made everyone else super lucky."

There was an audible gasp from most of the students. Most of them were surprised by this discovery. They glanced around at each other in surprise. All of them except one seemed taken aback by this discover. They were sweating… Yes, this just confirmed they were the killer, just as Himura had suspected. Wonderful, looked like this case was almost over. It was time to finally reel this ending in to it's big finale.

"Why does that even matter?" Kagabu snapped, the dirty look on her face snapping back and forth between the skater and the barista. "Her Ultimate has _**nothing**_ to do with this case!"

"She's right," Eguchi spoke up, her dull eyes looking over to stare down Himura, " _ **What does that have to do with this case**_?"

"Oh, nothing much," Himura started as his shoulders bobbed with a shrug, "it's just the last thing we need to finally wrap up this case. But that's all."

"Shut up! You freak!" Kagabu shouted, pounding her fist against the wood in front of her. "All you've done is run that shitty mouth of yours! There's no way someone would just kill using the help of luck!"

"I beg to differ." Himura said as a shit eating grin slowly started to trickle over his lips, "Luck may not be the reason but it was a big help for the killer. Hotta's luck decided who the victim was, got them into Hotta's room and even helped them a little bit afterwards Hotta even died!"

"But luck has its limits." He could hear the ring of Komaeda's voice in his ear. "It had to run out sooner or later and when good luck leaves…"

"Bad luck usually follows.." Himura said, finishing off his teacher's droning sentence. "I know who the killer is now. There's no doubt in my mind anymore. There's only three people here who had the information needed to put together Hotta's special talent. Me, Kobayashi, and-"

" **SHUT UP!"** Kagabu screamed as she pounded her fist harder against the wood. Looked like she had finally reached her breaking point as sweat fell down her face like a waterfall. Her pupils were dilated and her hands were trembling. Her skin seemed to lose all color as she screamed more. "These are all baseless remarks that your caffeine addicted ass keeps spewing as if you have no sense of direction!"

Himura paused, staring at ther as her hair seemed to pull it's way out of her ponytail, strands falling in front of her enraged face as her teeth gritted together. He took it in for a moment before bursting into a loud laugh. "Is that so? Man, aren't you desperate! Guess it's time to prove that you're the killer, huh, Masako Kagabu?"

"Wh-What?" Iris yelped from her place, covering her hand over her mouth in surprise as her eyes widened. "You better have evidence! You can't just accuse out friends of murder."

Koba pauses before clearing his throat. "No, he's got evidence. He wouldn't be throwing all this shit down if he didn't have the stuff to back it up. He doesn't work like that."

"I can give you the evidence," Himura relaxed for a moment as he went to sip at his coffee before continuing with the trial. "So let's go back to the stuff in the sink. Wanna tell us what that is, Kagabu?"

"Why the h-"

"Okay, don't play along, I can do do both roles." Himura slowly set his coffee cup down on his personal stand as his eyes slowly turned back up towards to look at Kagabu. Targeting her as he continued to speak. "It was nailpolish, specifically it was Kagabu's nail polish. On the day of the murder you had bright, orange nails but now, now they're blue."

"AH! That's not a stable piece of evidence! People change their nail color all the time!" Kagabu was snapping more and more by the second, her fists clenching as she tucked her nails into the palm of her hand to try and hide the blue nails. But everyone had already seen them. Saito seemed the most startled by this new piece of evidence.

"Hay! You let me paint ya nails on the first night! I can't believe you changed them already! I know my paint is cheap but it still hurts my feelins!" Saito touched her hand to her chest, her expression turning to faintly hurt.

"Even better!" Himura said with a large grin. "It would be illogical for you to repaint them so soon… Unless they chipped. Actually it makes even more sense why you didn't repaint them orange now! You didn't have access to the orange paint without being suspicious so you chose one from your own arsenal."

Kaito suddenly piped up, drawing Himura back to the boy's bare chest. Damn, he'd done so well ignoring it until now. But it definitely shut Himura up for a few moments as he took the time to count the freckles on his chest. "If she washed the blood off the knife that was when she chipped the nail polish! She must have been scrubbing really hard to make it break off so much."

"Y-Yeah." He had stopped at around forty when he dragged himself back into this boring trial. "That's exactly what happened… good job."

Kaito had a rose up to his face in the next moment as his teeth went to gently bite his bottom. "Of course! I see where you're going with this! She stole the knife from the kitchen before Nighttime!"

"And we know this because Kaito saw the knife was missing before Nighttime," Himura continued with his explanation, trying to get ahold of himself again. "But it was back again before midnight. I propose the knife was put back shortly after -"

"This has gone far enough!" Kagabu's voice sounded strained. Her eyes were wild as they stared Himura down with determination… almost with a killer's intent. "How do we know the murder didn't happen later! _**The killer came in during the middle of the night!**_ While the victim was asleep! I was in bed by then! S-Saito saw me go to bed!"

"I did!" Saito spoke up, looking determined. "I say Kagabu leaving the laundry room around midnight!"

"Wrong!" Himura piped up as he pointed his finger at the stock trader. "I mean, you probably really saw her, but the statement on the killing happening during the middle of the night, that part is wrong. There's evidence it happened before she went to bed. Her bed was completely made so she hadn't went to bed yet."

"B-But-" Kagabu scattered to try and put another argument together. "W-Well I-"

"Plus she was in her pajamas… she was just about to go to bed." Himura kept going, ignoring the girl's words even further. At this point they were almost pleads for Himura to turn the other cheek. Too bad Himura wanted to finish this. To finish this for his fellow students. For his friends. "There was no forced entry, Hotta let the killer in and invited her into her bathroom where the killer stabbed her with one hard thrust."

"But… why Hotta?" Finally the small seamstress spoke up, a sad look crossing her round face. "Why kill Hotta? There had to be a reason? There had to be a motive!"

"Hotta was picked because she made everyone around her lucky…" The feeling started to weigh down on him as the realization dawned on him. "She made everyone else around her lucky… so when Kagabu picked a victim… Hotta had the least amount of luck." What a way to go. The fact that she protected her peers from certain death. Weird how that worked out… weird and sad.

"Kagabu just wanted to get out of the school. She didn't care who she killed… so she just picked at random. Since Hotta made us more lucky… she got to be the special choice. " Himura sighed as the room grew silent. Seemed like everyone was taking this all in.

" _ **If I killed her I would have blood on me!**_ "

"...What?"

"You heard me!" Kagabu yelled this last objection even louder than before. She glared over at the barista with a ghastly look. "This is my only blazer! If I had killed her it would have blood on it."

"You won't let this go, will you?" It was Kaito to speak next as the actor had pulled out the monocle from his pocket once more. "You washed it! It's a dark color so blood just comes right off!"

"You even were missing your blazer this morning…" Saito said as she put her hand over her mouth. "You said… it had to finish drying…"

"I-"

"With the help of luck, you didn't run into anyone with your bloody jacket or knife. You got to clean it all without being caught. But then, sadly for you, the luck ran out, you got caught in the laundry in the room. You couldn't get your clothes until the morning because you knew Kaito might see you if you came back."

"N-"

"Listen, just admit it. Just say 'I killed Yeijiro Hotta.' There's no reason to deny it anymore. We all know you're the killer." Himura let the smile slide back onto his face.

"S-"

"Sounds like you've all reached a conclusion!" Monokuma's voice caused Himura too jump a bit. He had been so focused on this trial he had forgotten about the bear listening in on the entire thing. "Now everyone cast your vote! Make sure you're positive! We gotta kill the right people!"

Himura grabbed his coffee cup back off the stand as he got to work. Dragging his finger over to Kagabu's name before sending in his vote. This was it, he had discovered the killer. He would be lying if he said he didn't find some kind of thrill in it all. Murder mysteries had always been so much fun! Figuring out who the killer was, piecing together the evidence into coherent ideas.

They all turned to see the wheel spin, finally landing on the cute art of their stock trader friend. Looked like it was finally over. Everyone stepped away from their stands as they looked around. The first trial was over, they had discovered the killer among their peers. That was enough for Himura. He was glad it was over before he heard the loud steps that came from the stairs behind the group. Himura turned slowly to watch as Naegi ran up to the group. Facial expressions twisted with shock as he hurried over to the students.

"W-Why would you kill one of your students like that?" Makoto cried out, his voice carried a tune that sounded as if he'd asked this question too many times. "She was one of your classmates!"

"N-No she wasn't" Tears had started to bubble in the corner of Kagabu's eyes. The large droplets breaking over the rim before pouring down her red cheeks. "None of you are my classmates! This isn't my school I need to leave!"

"Aw, what a crybaby!" Monokuma walked up next to Kagabu before patting the girl's calf. "You're not a very good killer."

"Y-You leave her alone!" Makoto shouted, Himura could see the tears as they built up in the corner of the teacher's eyes. "You let everyone go and you let us leave!"

"You know that's not how it works." Monokuma gripped onto the girl's ankle as a dark force seemed to wrap around him. "Now, Everyone get ready! It's Punishment Time! Who's ready to see the execution of the Ultimate Stock Trader?"

No one looked away as Monokuma yanked the girl's leg out from underneath her, causing her to hit the ground with a loud thud. She let out a loud gasp as her sobs broke into a pained whimper. Monokuma dragged her over to a chain, clasping it around her ankle before the girl was dragged into darkness. Shortly after she vanished something lite up across the trial grounds. Through the panel of glass they could see it…

 **Class Execution of Masako Kagabu**

 _ **Backed up work**_

 _The room took a second to come into view. It was an office, personal desks rested quietly around the perimeter of the room. Everything was silent in the dull overhead lights. A loud hiss was heard as a blinding light shot down on the middle of the room. Kagabu was tied to an office chair. She was struggling slightly as she tried to break the thick ropes around her body. The struggle was meaningless. No one could break free from those ropes._

 _A deafening hum broke through the sickening silence like a warning sign. A siren to let everyone know the true show was about to begin. The first one shot out like a white smear across their vision. The object had barely hit the tied up stock trader but they all could easily see the slice across her cheek as bright pink leaked down her face. Her eyes dilated in pure terror as she suddenly started to panic. Right then there was another one shot out, slicing her jaw as it just barely missed her neck._

 _She made eye contact for a moment… she screamed for help. Then it began to rain down on her in an endless stream. White smudged across the view in a sudden storm of it all. The room was soon splattered with pink as each one took a bite at the stock trader. After a second of the horror show enough of them had piled onto the ground so that everyone could make out what they were. They all watched as the blood soaked papers slowly fluttered to the ground. The blobs of pink staining the white as they dug into the girl's skin with vicious intent. The blood slowly staining the paper as it fluttered to the ground._

 _Within seconds Kagabu was drowning i the stuff that was killing her, the papers piled up to her neck as she bled out in all that white and pink. Blood streamed down her face in heavy currents as she gasped for air, her mouth wide as she tried to suck in as much air as possible. Cuts littered the visible parts of her body as her neck and face poured out that eye hurting pink. The fear in her eyes screamed for the others to help her, but even more that that, they resembled the soul of someone who had completely given up on the idea of life. Someone who knew they'd never see the sun again… Never take another breath…_

 _The papers stopped suddenly. It was irrupt, jarring even as a loud creaking could be heard overhead. Kagabu slowly raised her head, afraid to look at what the cause of the sound may be. One last scream escaped the bloody mess of a girl as a large pile of papers were dropped from above… crushing her flat underneath as blood splattered onto the glass separating the living and the dead._

Himura jumped as the blood splatted onto the glass. Slowly taking a step away as his students started panicking around him. Himura's body refused to move as he heard sobs around him. The source of each was… indeterminate as he felt the area around his vision grow dark, almost as if he could only see so much. His hands were shaking as he gripped his coffee cup tighter to try and stop it. So many emotions washed over him all at once. Regret, sadness, desperation, anger, hate, envy, they all stabbed into him like a knife. Himura didn't even realize he was laying on the ground until his peers' voices buzzed in his ear like flies.

"Himura died too!" Screamed the tiny seamstress from somewhere in the room. "No! This can't be happening!"

"Himura," The next voice was shaky as he felt a hand on his side. It was big… or small… was it really a hand? The barista was slowly melting away as nothing seemed to come together in a sensible thought. "Are you okay? Can you walk."

He opened his mouth to talk but words just poured out as an empty gasp. He didn't even bother to close it as more words poured out. "I….I killed….I…."

 _I killed her,_ that was what Himura was thinking, _I figured this case out. It was fun to me. I'm disgusting. I killed her. I killed Kagabu. I killed Masako Kagabu._

"Can you carry him?" _Kaito… that was the actor who spoke next...right?_

"Easily." _Toy...maker…._

Himura felt as if he was being lifted off the ground. Maybe he was being taken to another plane of existence. Maybe he'd learn to fly… or maybe he hadn't moved at all. The sudden warmth that engulfed his cold skin made him tremble. He muttered the same words over and over. _Killer killer killer I'm a killer I killed her. Killer Killer Killer…"_

"He looks like he's gonna vom!" _Koba… the fake skater was somewhere close._

A voice cut through everything for a moment. A wisp in the cold air that surrounded the barista. A voice that he could understand before everything went dark.

"Good job Kazuki Himura! You helped save the entire class! We're so proud of you."

Himura couldn't really think about it as the darkness at the edges of his vision finally seemed to take their reign over his body. A whimper escaped his lips as everything went dark. This was the end of the class trials… it wasn't a game and it wasn't fun. Why had he been so entertained before.

 _...It was for the greater good…_ He kept his classmates safe… he hadn't been selfish… he didn't do this just for this for himself, for the thrill of the mystery. He remembered the original reason why he'd been excited to come down here… To prove himself to everyone… to make his peers safe and gain their friendship… Was that selfish? Was he selfish… They were all thoughts that clouded his mind as the dark took away even his thoughts.

 _Was it worth it…?_

* * *

 ** _::Author's Notes::_**

 _Hey, I only realized recently that was removing all the breaks between perspective changes so I'm sorry about that! Also I appoligize because I'm more used to AO3 so I need to start making my own notes for each chapter. Anyways I fixed each document up and they all should have the needed breaks so they're easier to understand! Sorry for the mistake!_


	5. Some Fresh Free Time

I made a playlist for this fanfiction if you need jams while reading: /pansexualpirate/collections/danganronpa-never-ending-despair

Report Card: document/d/1bcXw989aO3Y-mPaH6oOYgTBPH3QN8bTLHSapRZQ5JJk/edit?usp=sharing

* * *

Students Left

 _14_

"Good morning everyone!" Komaeda's voice wound around the other teachers as he left his room. His messy hair scattered around his pale face as he gazed over the other teachers who were gathered around the round table. "It's good to see you all again!"

"Damn," Kazuichi said as he shifted in his seat, visibly uncomfortable, "I prefered you staying locked up in your room. Is it too late to go back to that?"

"Well if you really want me too," Komaeda responded as he went to fully spin his body back towards his room, "then I'd be glad to help."

"Nagito, come sit down." Hajime spoke up, done with the spectacle in front of him. "We have important stuff to discuss and we don't really have time for games."

Komaeda spun on his toe again before sinking into his chair next to Hajime. His slim shoulders gave Souda a lazy shrug. "Hajime's words are law."

"Listen everyone," Makoto spoke up over the other teachers, despite being quit his voice carried throughout the room, "I think we need to talk about something important. We need to spend more time with the students. I think if they understand that they can believe in us then there won't be any more killings. They just need to see that there is hope!"

"How do we do that?" Souda leaned over the table as his thin lips pulled over his sharp teeth, "I don't see how just talking to them keeps them from killing each other. Never stopped anyone in the previous games."

"No one requested that you speak." Gundam snapped at the mechanic as his arms crossed over his chest. "But I do find doubt in that idea as well. Why would these puny mortals gaze at us in such reverence?"

"Isn't it obvious? We're their teachers!" Makoto's voice was bright and upbringing, filled with a sweet tinge of hope that carried over the room and brought light into everything. Makoto stood to his feet, raising one of his tiny fists into the air with determination. "They need to understand that we're here to protect them! We need to show them that we care about them and that we're here for them!"

"I don-"

"You're right." Hajime cut off Kazuichi as Hajime stood to his feet as well. "We need to try and help them the best we can."

"Bu-"

"I couldn't imagine being a pinnacle of hope for these young, talented students! Just the idea fills me with absolute joy!" Komaeda stood up too, wrapping his arms around himself with a long breath.

"Guys I-"

"Ahahaha! I shall lead these mortals into salvation! They will witness the true extent of my power and they shall cowar!" Gundam stood up as well, taking a glorified pose as his laugh continued around the room.

Kazuichi made no attempt to stand up, slouching in his chair as he looked over the other students. They were all staring him down, waiting for him to join in on their hopeful ideas. Souda groaned and slowly stood to his feet as his fingers worked at his hat a bit, pulling it a bit more over his face. A huff of surrender escaped his lips. "Fine… I'll try… but I won't promise anything."

"Wonderful!" Makoto said with a relieved sigh. "Now let's sta-"

"Excuse me?"

All the teachers turned to look behind them. They all could see the student standing at the top of the stairs. Her round features were covered in an elaborate dress that barely evaded scraping the ground. Her long, thick hair was delicately wound into a complex braid. When all of the teachers' eyes were on her, the student gave a quick curtsy.

"Good morning Luna," Hajime spoke up first as he took a few steps towards the student, "do you need something?"

Luna paused before giving a slight nod. "Yes- um Mr. Hinata... The second floor is open and we all wanted to explore it… but we all figured it was best to talk to you all first, so I volunteered to come get you guys… I hope I wasn't interrupting anything."

Hajime smiled softly as he shook his head. "No, you weren't interrupting us at all. Let's all head downstairs and meet up with everyone, okay?"

Luna seemed to relax before giving a big nod, her hair bouncing with her head. The teachers started to walk towards her to head down the stairs before she let out a sudden gasp. "One more thing!"

Hinata was taken aback for a moment at how excited she sounded, like a sudden thought had caused a lot of energy within her body. "Yes, Luna? What is it?"

"Last night… after the trial…" Luna lifted one of her small hands up to gingerly bite her thumb. "We all got a memory back... "

"Wh-What? Was it the same memory for each of you?" Naegi pushed himself closer to the front, moving to stand next to Hajime.

"No…" Luna said, gently shaking her head. "But each of the memories shared one thing in common… We all got a memory back of times we've spent with our teachers."

Luna took a moment before speaking again, going from timid to extremely joyful again as she bounced slightly with joy. "Mr. Hinata I got a memory where you helped me design a new dress! You were so nice! And-and you inspired me so much that I was able to finish my next line of clothing! You even let me model the dresses off of you like a mannequin! It was really fun!"

Hajime couldn't remember this moment and it made guilt form in his chest, even if he couldn't help the fact that the memories were stolen from him. But he let a gentle smile crease his lips as he went to pat the top of the short girl's head. "That sounds like a lot of fun, Luna. Maybe we can do it again sometime."

Luna let out a happy squeak before she went to run down the stairs. "I'll go tell everyone you guys are coming! Then we can explore the entire second floor together!"

She disappeared down the staircase with the taps of her shoes echoing behind her. The second she left, Makoto spoke up. "This worries me."

"Huh?" Hajime turned to face the headmaster with a confused look. "I figured them regaining memories of us was useful. It makes them more likely to trust us if they can remember us, right?"

"Yes… That's true." The ghastly look on Makoto's face made the headmaster look exhausted. The sudden lack of a smile made the tiny teacher look even more tired. "But I regained memories too… After seeing the dead bodies of my students I… I remembered them... "

"Wh-What?" Souda quacked from behind the group.

Naegi gave a nod before moving to scratch the corner of his mouth. "Yeah, I was taken off guard by it… But it's important you all know this."

"Right," Komaeda broke the awkward silence that was about to form. The faces on all of the teachers looked nervous, as if the idea was scaring all of them. "But right now we promised to meet the students downstairs so let's go catch up with them, okay?"

Everyone nodded in agreement before moving to descend the stairs. There was no point in keeping the students waiting. It was time to confront the situation at hand. Without anymore hesitation the teachers descended the stairs, ready to greet their students and explore the new floor.

* * *

" _You don't understand,"_ Himura told his teacher as the two sat outside the school. The student was hunched over his bento box lunch, picking the hot dog octopi up before dropping them bank down into the box. "No one here likes me, they all think I'm some kind of weirdo."

"But you are a weirdo!" Komaeda spoke as if that was supposed to be comforting. Did he not understand Himura's problem?

"That doesn't he-"

"Shhhhh," Komaeda hushed him before he continued to speak, "Everyone here at Hope's Peak is weird. They're all exceptional from the main population! They're weird to the main population of the world because they're so special. Amazing and filled with hope! A spectacle that is far beyond what this word deserves! You're only weird because you've never been around people who are as amazing as you! "

"And?"

"And this is the place you're most likely to make friends, Himura." Komaeda's voice softened, a gentle tone wearing down the edges of his raspy voice, "trust me… if someone like me can make friends here… So can you, easily."

Himura paused, finally letting his eyes leave the poor, tortured octoweenie to look up at his teacher. The gentle smile, the caring expression… It wasn't something he had received in a long time. He couldn't help a soft warmth in his chest… it was minor but it was there. "Thank you, Komaeda-Sensei."

"You don't have to be so formal," Komaeda laughed a bit, as if adding the title was ridiculous, "I'm barely deserving of that title."

Himura chuckled as he finally plucked the octopus up and popped him into his mouth. "I'd beg to differ, Komaeda." He looked at his teacher once more as a smile formed on his lips. Though it slowly faded as the edges of the memory seemed to burn away, like a photograph exposed to a burning fire. He couldn't help but desperately grasp for his teacher, trying not to lose him to the darkness that was slowly overtaking them. But soon he was gone, everything was dark and Himura felt as if he was just floating inside the darkness. Where was he… and what was going on?

Himura woke up quickly as he went to rub his head, feeling dizzy as he finally came to terms with what was going on inside of his dream. It was too real to be made up, to accurate. No, dreams were never that realistic, especially not for Himura. Dreams were always a mess of fears in situations that didn't make sense, colors that didn't belong and doors that led into the wrong rooms. But this, everything was accurate. He could smell the fresh air as they neared the start of fall, the sky was so blue with only a few clouds scattered across its wide scape. No, that wasn't a dream, it was a memory. It was a memory of his school life.

Standing to his feet, Himura rubbed his forehead as he slowly got ready for the day. Choosing to button up a soft green button up first, tucking the fabric into his stitched up pants. He then tossed on a baby pink sweater overtop of the button up, pulling the collar of the fancy shirt over the lip of the sweater. With a drawn out yawn, Himura tossed on his beanie and headed to the corner of his room. After the trial yesterday, Yunokawa had been nice enough to carry one of the giant coffee machines to his room. After around 8 cups, Himura had finally started feeling better about the murder yesterday.

He realized it was ridiculous to blame himself, right? If he hadn't caught the killer than his entire class would have died. The means justify cause, right? If he could keep that idea up he wouldn't have a melt down again, he'd be safe.

After another warm cup of coffee graced him with it's existence, Himura left his room, looking to see the rest of the kids gathered in front of the dining hall. Taking another long drink, he walked over just in time to see the small seamstress run towards the stairs to the teacher's dormitory. Quietly he decided to push the memory to the back of his mind. It might look suspicious if he was randomly regaining memories.

"Hey, " Himura started as he grew closer. "What's everyone gathered around for?"

"Himura, good morning," Eguchi stepped forward from the crowd, her dark hair tumbling over her shoulders, Himura could already see her fangs as her lips moved. Each time he saw them the more he believed they were real. "We were all discussing some weird dreams we had last night."

"Oh, so I wasn't the only one?" Himura let out a long, drawn out sigh of relief before pressing his palm to his forehead, "that is a weight off my shoulders!"

"The second floor is also open," Sugai said as his large figure took a step forward from within the crowd. "Luna went to fetch the teachers, then we were going to go upstairs and see what's open to discovery!"

"Woah!" Himura said as a smile grew on his lips. "That's pretty exciting! I-"

"The teachers are coming!" Luna said as she got a large grin on her face, jogging over to her friends. "We'll get to go check it out in a second."

Sugai laughed as he walked over to Luna. It was pretty funny seeing such a huge man next to such a tiny girl. He smiled and patted the top of her head. "You did a great job!"

Luna let out a snort of a laugh as she covered her mouth. "Thank you!"

Himura couldn't help but think the praise was unnecessary. It was such a simple task it didn't really require reward. Either way, Himura turned just in time to see all the teacher walking down the stairs, Kazuichi following the rear of the group.

"You guys ready to check it out?" Naegi asked, a small smile on his face.

"More than ready!" Sugai boomed as the muscles in his throat seemed to pop.

"Yeah!beyond ready! Let's do this!" Luna giggled as she threw her little arms up into the air, the Motivational Speaker's words obviously filling her with energy. Himura couldn't lie, they both got him pretty excited to check it out as well.

The group moved forward together as a group. Himura was more towards the middle of the group, his walk too slow to keep up with the faster walkers like Sato, Kaito, and Sugai, but still faster so that he wasn't lagging behind with Niijima and Iris. Those two were surprisingly slow walkers.

Himura sipped his coffee as he took the time to admire Kaito from a distance. Unfortunately the actor had a shirt on today but his whole outfit had changed. Himura figured that was his own fault, since he'd been the one to spill coffee on the Ultimate Actor but looking over Kaito's new look, he couldn't help but feel glad for his little accident. The actor was now dressed in a sweater that fit snuggly onto his slender, perfect torso. The white sweater rode off his shoulders, showing the flawless, freckled skin underneath along with his sharp collarbone. Not to mention the fact that his legs were well accented. Dark, almost black leggings hugged his legs, almost like a soft, new skin. They hugged him in places Himura was embarrassed to even think about. The whole outfit was definitely a sight to take in.

"I don't understand how everyone can have so much spring in their step already." The barista was so distracted he almost didn't hear the whispering in his ear. His head whipped around to see the source of the voice with surprise as he had to look up to see Yunokawa's face. "Two of our friends died yesterday."

"To be fair," Himura started as he sipped his coffee, "Kagabu wasn't my friend."

"Well you still seemed pretty torn up about her murder." The toy maker stated, her words obviously not meant to be as harsh as they felt.

"That's because she only died because I solved the murder." Himura said, trying to swallow down the sudden pang of guilt in his gut, "but I've gotten past that. It was for the greater good."

"I don't believe in the greater good… Murder is still murder." Yunokawa's words burned him like a fresh pot of coffee. "But you also shouldn't feel guilty. You did what had to be done. Thank you, you saved my life."

Himura felt his mind halt like someone had blasted the brakes on everything. He felt like he was floating for a moment, just a small moment his mind was taken from him and replaced with pure joy. He could feel his eyes water a bit but he didn't do anything about it. She thanked him… He couldn't help but feel a little better for bringing Kagabu to her bitter end. Himura didn't return to the real world until Yunokawa's deep voice pulled him back into reality.

"Ready to see what's on this floor?" Yunokawa asked as they reached the very top of the stairs, watching as the group quickly separated to scout the new floor.

"Absolutely," Himura smiled, feeling the tears dry slightly in his eyes as he felt even better about yesterday. Hopefully there would never be another trial. Wouldn't that be the dream.

The barista and the toymaker stuck together as they went to explore all the rooms on the floor. It didn't seem like there was much to see at first, they had found a pair of bathrooms at the top of the stairs. The students had watched with awkward glances as Makoto insisted the boy's room be checked thoroughly. What a strange place to investigate so deeply. The other students left that to the headmaster and Bellerose before leaving to explore the rest of the building.

Next the group stumbled upon a smaller room, the door had a sign near the frame, naming the room as the _Lounge._ Himura paused outside the door before heading inside. The atmosphere in the room was warm, as if the temperature was slightly higher in this room. It was almost comforting, almost, if they weren't trapped inside the school it would be a lot nicer. Himura saw the plush looking chairs that read extravagant that faced a large, wide screen tv. A large, round carpet covered the center of the floor. It looked plush to the touch and would be inviting if it didn't have a giant Monokuma printed on top of it. DVD's lined one of the walls in a thick, mahogany shelf.

"We could have a movie night!" Iris giggled from the back of the group, Eguchi following her in silence as the two walked over to observe the movie list. It only took a few seconds of examination for the special effects artist to suddenly squeal.

"This collection! It's outstanding! These are some of the best movies in history! We will definitely have to get together and watch them!" Eguchi said, sudden joy coming into her monotone voice, "you haven't really lived until you've seen all of these!"

Himura chuckled as he looked over the movies. Some of them caught his eyes and titles seemed to read off nicely. Guess whoever picked out these movies had great tastes. Himura hadn't actually seen most of these so he took the artist's words as facts. The barista never really watched a lot of movies because you needed friends to watch movies. Watching them alone had always felt...sad. "I'd love to watch them all with you some time!"

Eguchi nodded before she went back to shuffling through all of the DVDs. Seemed like she was going to be working on this for awhile. Himura turned and went to head to the next room, but he paused as he saw what was hung up on the wall. A large sword was held up high on the wall. It was probably decoration so it might be better to just put it in the back of his mind for now. He looked around at the last of the group that had stayed in this room. Mainly he was left with Yunokawa, Iris, and Niijima, plus he could see the yellow sleeve of Souda's jumpsuit outside of the door. Had everyone really been that impatient that they had to leave so quickly? Whatever, if they really couldn't wait, that was fine.

The group went back out to the hall, when they walked past Souda at the entrance they realised the teacher didn't seem to have any intentions of following. Maybe he didn't think it was a good idea to leave a student alone. Made sense, it was always dangerous to go alone. The rest of the group didn't question it as they went to discover the last few things left on this new floor. Himura glanced into some of the classrooms on the floor, looking around and taking in what should have been their place of learning. Himura couldn't help but looking at the chalkboards in each room, they all had cute doodles of Monokuma. But the more he looked at them, the creepier he found them. Sure, they just featured pictures of Monokuma talking right now but they still gave Himura the shivers. The one that freaked him out the most though was a doodle of Monokuma playing catch with Naegi… It just seemed really creepy, honestly.

Finally they were to the last room on the second floor when Himura let out a long, drawn out yawn. Looking at the last door, it was wide open and a warm breeze seemed to flow out of it. The air smelled sweet as it gently moved Himura's bangs. There was something relaxing in the air as it wrapped itself around them. Himura tried to put his finger on it but his thoughts were broken as Iris screamed and raced forward at full speed. Clutching her hat to her head as she ran inside.

"Woah, isn't she excited!" Himura said with a laugh, glancing over at Yunokawa with a grin.

"You can't tell why?" Yunokawa said, almost as if she was a little surprised, "you can't smell it in the air?"

Himura paused before shaking his head. "Smell what?"

"The air," Niijima said, Himura almost couldn't hear her voice, "you can smell the nature… can't you?"

"Oh, that. Guess a botanist would be excited to see some plants." Himura stated as he looked the two girls over for a second. Now that he was up close he could personally take in their appearance. Niijima was small, her body thin and her clothes were strange to say the least. Her hair was pulled into four separate ponytails on the back of her head and she wore strange, large headphones over her ears. The headband segment of the headphones had small ears on them. The DJ had very soft features, soft, gentle looking eyes and a round face and a small, button nose that was slightly upturned. Her clothes were… strange. Her sweater had long sleeves that went well past her hands but the torso of it ended slightly below her chest into a crop top. An image of some cartoon cat rested on the center of her sweater. Her skirt was weird as well, skirt went far past her knees in part and above them in others. The bottom of the fabric was broken in squares, almost as if it was broken apart by pixels or a digital malfunction. She had on stockings underneath with stitchings that resembled sound waves across them. The stockings leading into black platform boots that added a few inches to her height.

Then there was Yunokawa. She was tall, muscular, and strong. Her jaw was thing and chiseled in a way that wasn't just from working out. Her color palette was dull except for a few hard red highlights. Her light brown jacket had a popped collar that wrapped around the back of her thick neck. But what stood out the most about her was her cute earrings that dangled from her ear. They were in the shape of sweets, one was an ice cream cone and the other some kind of cookie. That along with the soft pink bunny dangling from her pocket, Yunokawa was kind of adorable. They put a soft curve on her hard edges. Himura paused as he watched the toy maker and the dj head towards the entrance. With a small pause, Himura quickened his step to catch up with the two.

Through the doors was the largest room he'd seen so far in the building. Green was the main color that filled the entire room. Large plants towered over them, flourishing flowers and shiny vegetables lined the bright red brick walkway. Himura imagined every kind of plant resided in this greenhouse. The bright lights in the room must have acted like an artificial sun. It looked like there was some kind of shed near the back of the room but Himura wasn't too interested in that right now. His eyes were more drawn to Iris, the girl had already found a water pale and was working at some of the plants. Humming softly to herself. Himura chuckled as he took a moment to watch the happy botanist get to work.

"Looks like she's having fun." Yunokawa said with a small grin on her face.

Himura laughs. "Sure looks like it! I'm gonna let you guys finish up in here! I'm gonna go see what everyone else found! Does that sound okay to you?"

Yunokawa nodded. "Don't worry we've got this under control."

Himura nodded before he gave a nod, leaving the greenhouse with Niijima trailing behind him. Guess she was interested to see something else too. "Talk to you guys later!" Himura said before finally leaving the room. He didn't really talk to Niijima, just looked around before trying to find the others. Maybe they had found something important.

* * *

Himura had no idea how he got in this situation and he had no idea to get out of it. Cupping his hand against his head he felt all the blood rush to his head. He could still feel the tight grip of Sugai's hand around his ankle as the large man held him upside down. He was swinging slightly from being flipped upside down. Himura felt like he was going to throw up.

"How's that feel, Himaru?" Sato crotched down near the barista's face as a wide grin spread over her sharp features. "You feel all that blood rushin to your head!"

"It's Him _ura,_ " The barista started as he tried to force the words out of his mouth, "and I don't see the point of this. Why am I upside down?"

"Don't you feel the rush?" Sato asked, almost as if surprised he wasn't into it. "Everything moving! The heat in your face? The _RUSH_!"

"I feel like I'm going to barf." Himura coughed out, the need to hurl was a very real feeling when he was dangling like this.

Sato stood up on her feet, crossing her arms over her chest with a low huff. "Fine, put 'im down, Sugai."

"On it!" Sugai shouted and Himura could feel the grip loosen around his ankle. He could barely hear the raspy voice from behind them as Sugai went to let go.

"Don't drop him on his he-" Souda was too late though as the motivational speaker just released his grip, letting Himura fall and hit the ground head first with a loud thud. Himura didn't bother sitting up right away, hugging his head and groaning in pain. "You guys could have killed him!"

Sato laughed and got down next to the body, squatting with her weirdly wide grin. "Kill him? Nah, he's fine. Don't worry Teach!"

Souda groaned as he moved to rub his jaw, looking unsure as he drew a little closer. "I guess kill him is a little bit of an over exaggeration. But the last thing he needs is more brain damage… Just, be careful."

"Understood…" Niijima looked away from their teacher as she went to sit on one of the chairs of the longe. She pulled out her right arm from inside her sleeve as she began to fidget with all of the gears and buttons on the metal limb.

Himura slowly regained his thoughts as he finally sat up, rubbing his head where it hit the floor and silently prayed he didn't have a concussion. He paused as he saw Niijima's arm and slowly felt his interest in the prosthetic peak. "That's pretty nifty."

Niijima didn't respond at first, almost as if she didn't hear the barista. She looked up from her arm just as Himura spoke again, Niijima looked up from her arms, making eye contact before actually responding to his question.

"It helps me make music," Niijima said with a slight smile, "Souda-Sensei made it for me."

"Wh-What? I did?" Souda sounded surprised but when he leaned over to look at the arm over the girl's shoulder. The look on his face told enough though, whatever he saw was enough to convince him. "Oh, I definitely made that… But how did you remember?"

Niijima was watching her teacher's face before responding. "It was the memory I got back." Her voice was so soft, so quiet that if you weren't listening for it you could easily miss the gentle voice. "It was me on one of my first days here. You said you could make me a cooler arm and I didn't really think you were being serious. Then you brought me this really cool arm that I can mix music from! I remember being really impressed!"

Souda paused before letting out a nervous laugh. The teacher rubbed the back of his neck as if the guy wasn't used to ever being complimented. "Well I'm the Ultimate Mechanic for a reason."

"My memory was cool too!" Sato spoke up from her cross legged seat next to Himura. He couldn't help but notice the way she couldn't sit still. Even now she was rocking back and forth, unable to stop the motion. "I accidently crashed my favorite car and you fixed it for me! I remember being super bummed about it, the poor baby was all messed up. But then you fixed it! Hell, you even made it better! It was the coolest thing I'd ever seen."

"Aw geez guys! You're too much!" Souda babbled as he took in all the compliments. The guy looked like he was going to drown in all the compliments his students were giving him.

"Me next!" Sugai shouted as he flopped into one of the lounge chairs. The whole room shook for a second but it wasn't obvious if it was from his voice or the force that came from his body. "My memory was a good one too, Sensei! I remembered you crying, like sobbing, it was a mess, to be fair. But then I inspired you with my words! I helped you stop being a blubbering mess and have faith in who you are!"

Kazuichi's smile died so quickly that Himura wasn't sure if it had been sucked out of him by a vacuum. The teacher instantly looked embarrassed as that pride he had been building up suddenly dissipated. The teacher nervously scratched the corner of his mouth, no longer making eye contact with his students, looking off to the side too in shame. "Thats… I don't know about that one…"

"What!" Tears formed in the corners of Sugai's eyes as he clenched his fists, drool and snot dripping a bit from their respective orifices. "Are you calling me a liar, pal?"

"N-No!" Kazuichi scrambled to cover up his tracks, "I wasn't calling you a liar! I was just trying to say I don't cry. Sometimes my eyes just spontaneously water! You must have just been mistaken."

"No…" Niijima whispered from her slouched position in the chair, "I remember you crying in my memory as well."

"Same here!" Cheered Sato as she threw her arms up in the air. "You're just a big crybaby!"

The mechanic already looked like he was going to break into tears again. "Crybaby! I'm not a crybaby! You take that back!"

Himura thought the site was a little pathetic, watching a teacher beg his students to think he was cool. But the rest of his class seemed to get something else out of it as they all burst into laughter. Two thunderous, loud voices and one tiny, almost sinister snicker. The room being filled with such joy made Himura feel chuckles bubble up in his chest as well. The happiness in the room seemed to be infecting him as well, and soon he joined in with their laughter. It felt good, to relax here with friends for the moment. Himura let it take him for a bit longer, deciding it was best to laugh along with his friends.

"Don't worry, pal, it's okay to cry! Crying is a way to release stress and a way to find comfort! There's nothing wrong with it at all!" Sugai clenched his fist tight as he looked over at his teacher. "It is quite alright to cry! Do not be ashamed!"

Himura kinda didn't agree with the guy there, Souda's crying was its own spectacle, always making everyone around him feeling awkward when he did it. But the words seemed to work on Souda as the teacher wiped some of the unnecessary wetness from his face. "You're pretty good with your words, Sugai." Himura said as he looked back towards the motivational speaker.

"I have to be!" Sugai said as he brought one of his massive thumbs to his chin, "otherwise I wouldn't be the Ultimate Motivational Speaker!"

Himura paused before laughing. "Oh! I guess you're right! That was a silly statement for me to make."

"S'kay, everyone says stupid shit sometimes!" Sato spoke up from her spot on the floor, she was still slowly swaying back and forth.

"And you never stop moving," Himura finally said it out loud, "even now you can't sit still."

A wide, happy smile crossed the girl's lips and she seemed to sway more. "Yeah, ever since I was little I couldn't stay still! I've always needed to keep moving! To do everything as fast as possible! Teachers in grade school used to yell at me for it, said I needed to stop moving all the time. But now people praise me for it! Real change of pace there!" She let out a quick, hefty laugh as her movement paused for a moment. "It's a nice change of pace, that's for sure! Being the Ultimate Racer sure makes fast thoughts ideal!"

Himura let out a slight chuckle at her enthusiasm. She sounded really happy to have found her place with her talent. Must be nice, having a talent that could change your life so much, a talent that could help fix your problems instead of making them worse. "Racing must make you really happy then, huh?"

"Oh yeah! Nothing better than the rush of racing for me! Any kind, really, cars, bikes, motorcycles, even on foot! The rush I get is better than anything else! Well, Racing and girls are my two favorite things in the world! They make my heart pound." Sato leaned forward, the gesture was a bit faster than it should have been. Himura was slightly afraid that she'd headbutt him as she leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Plus, girls love racecar drivers! You should give it a try some time, I promise it's an instant chick magnet."

"Oh, uh," Himura leaned away from her a bit, giving her a gentle shake of his head and a nervous laugh, "picking up chicks isn't really something I enjoy doing."

Sato paused for a moment before she let out a loud laugh. "Oh! I got ya! Dudes think it's really cool too."

Himura could feel the blood rush to his face as he instinctively fidgeted with his hat. "Guess r-racing just floats everyone's boat, huh?"

"Damn right it does!" Sato laughed more, finally leaning away from the barista and continuing her rocking.

Himura chuckled, even though his face had picked up more red hints in his dark skin on the cheeks, he felt welcomed here. It was nice to spend the time with people he'd like to consider his friends, even if one of them had dropped him on his head. Himura couldn't help but feel as if he'd grown a little bit closer with Sato, Sugai, and even Niijima. He made sure to make a mental note to spend even more time with them in the future.

* * *

The new floor seemed bogus, honestly. Kobayashi had searched the entire area and had yet to find anything cool enough to hold his interest for more than a few moments. There was just a bunch of classrooms with weird drawings in them, the words despair written everywhere like it was some lame catchphrase. The floor only contained a lounge room, class rooms, and some big plant house. _There wasn't even a skate rink or a lab, nothing cool on this dumb floor…_.. Well a lab wasn't really cool either.

Kobayashi adjusted the skateboard under his arm with a grunt as he headed towards the greenhouse. Maybe he could skate around in there, it was a pretty open area. He would just used the gym but last time Monokuma had kicked him out of there, apparently he was scuffing the floors with his board. Personally, he thought it made the gym look a lot cooler.

He reached the door of the greenhouse and took a deep breath. The air felt a lot fresher inside the room, even standing on the outside, Koba felt the refreshing sensation of the natural air that was inside was over him. Walking inside the actual room, the clean air was a bit cleansing from the normal, stuffy air of the rest of the school. Koba didn't see anyone else in the room at first so he tossed his board on the ground. If it was empty in here it might even be a better time to practice his moves.

Jumping on, Koba worked on his balance, kicking off the side of the board. It moved, so far, so good. He already felt the board wobble underneath him as he skated down the path of the greenhouse. He barely kept himself from hitting the rough edges of the brick path as he went deeper into the conservatory. That's when his eyes caught the stone bench coming up ahead. The perfect place to do some sick tricks if he was honest with himself. He kicked harder, speeding up as he headed straight for the bench. Bent his knees as he prepared for the jump, feeling his own heart beat for a moment as he watched it with determination. He pushed off hard, actually getting the board to come up with his feet this time. For a moment, he thought he'd make it, just a second of feeling as if he'd actually hit the bench.

But it only lasted a second as his feet didn't even make it over the seat of the bench, his foot getting caught underneath it and acting like a hinge as it directed the motion of his body into the hard bench. Pain rippled through his body, rendering him useless for a few moment as he reeled in how much he had absolutely failed. His ears barely picked up the rolling sound of his skateboard as it continued its trip underneath the bench without Koba. Quietly the sk8r was glad no one had been around to see his failure.

"Nice trick!" A sweet, gentle voice rang in his ears, startling his body back into motion as he tore his body from the stone bench to see Iris stoll from thick shrubbery across from the bench. Great, looked like someone really had seen how badly he had fucked up.

"Yeah, I totes meant to do that." Koba smirked as he jumped off the bench, his foot stung as he landed on it and the pain shot up his leg. Luckily nothing felt like it was broken.

"You really are good at skating!" Iris said as she fixed her hat on her head. Koba took a moment to take her in, her cute overall shorts already had dirt dusted all over them with tools tucked into the large, front pocket. Her sun hat seemed like it was barely holding onto her head as her blond hair spread from underneath like the canopy of a tree. Her large, sparkling eyes blinked up at Koba with a happy aura. "I could never land like that, and you get up so effortlessly!"

Koba let out a chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks starting to turn a soft pink. Her words sounded genuine. Luckily for the Ultimate Sk8r this botanist obviously didn't know a lot about sk8ing. "Aw, thanks," Koba said as he felt warmth spread across his chest at the praise. "But what are you doing in here by yourself?"

Iris giggled, _so cute,_ before pointing back in the direction she had come from. "Alone? I'm not alone, Yunokawa is here with me! We were weeding the gardens! This place hasn't been well kept at all!"

"They look pretty healthy to me," Koba shrugged as he glanced over the greenery. The stuff looked pretty green. Didn't green mean healthy for plants?

Iris huffed as if Koba had said something offensive. "Show's what you know about plants." She said as she went back to disappear into the shrubbery. Koba paused before quickly following after her. She went deeper into the greenery, gently moving plants so she could get to where she was before. Koba followed but he wasn't nearly as graceful. It felt as if every plant was hitting him directly in the face. It was like the plants were trying to attack him. The scientist was relieved when they finally entered an opened clearing that was filled with tiny sprouts in the soil. Koba quickly noticed the large toymaker bent down in the dirt, only looking up as the two entered the area. Koba had to admit that the giant women looked a lot softer like this, kneeled down close to the ground, especially with the gentle look in her piercing eyes as she looked over at Iris.

Iris smiled and waved as she plopped herself down in the soil next to a small sprout. One of her tiny hands reached over and scooped up a baby blue watering pail. Slowly she moved to start watering the plant with a happy smile.

"Kobayashi," The scientist almost jumped at the deep sound of the toy maker's voice, almost forgetting the women could even speak. She always had looked so stoic and hard, like a statue. "I wanted to apologize to you."

"Huh? Apologize ta me?" Koba said as he crouched in the dirt, hovering himself a bit off the ground, he didn't really want to get his cool socks dirty. He had no idea why she might need to apologize to him. Maybe she was talking shit about him in her free time and needed to get it off her chest.

"Yes," Yunokawa started as her sharp lashes batted over her eyes, "I'm sorry I accused you of killing Hotta… That was rash behavior and I should have seen how obviously fake that note was."

Oooooh, that was what she was talking about. Koba had already forgotten about the fact that all of his friends had blamed him for murder. "Oh, that? No probs, simple mistake, babe. Everyone was under a lot of that press you know? So, like, forget about it."

Confusion washed over the girl's face as she stared the scientist down. What now? Shit, was it because he said babe? Hopefully not, Kobayashi said that to everyone. Koba waited for a moment as he watched the toymaker's face, hoping he hadn't offended the muscular broad. But after another second of waiting, she erupted into laughter, throwing her head back as she did. The sound made Iris look up from the plants, her soft giggle intertwining with the loud boom of the other laugh.

"Why are you like that?"

"Like what?" Kobayashi asked, raising one of his brows as he puzzled over her words.

"I don't even know how to describe it. You don't have an accent you just shorten words where you shouldn't and you have the weirdest vocal tics I've ever heard my entire life. And your skating, it's the worst display I've ever seen and I work in the toy industry. You're so bizarre."

"Well, if ya want the honest ans, I picked it up from someone important to me… It's just part of my nature now, ya know?"

"That's pretty cute." Yunokawa remarked as she went back to helping Iris tend to the garden. Koba felt like his face was on fire, two compliments in one day was a lot for him to handle. "It seems like everyone here has some quirks that make them special. It's fairly enticing."

"Do you mind if I put you in the hot seat for a moment?" Koba asked as he saw Yunokawa go back to work on her plants.

She let out a loud, short laugh before nodding. "Go ahead, Kobayashi."

"Why are you so… grown up, yet so, uh, gentle?" Koba tilted his head, he wasn't sure how to put it, but out of everyone, she was calm and collected. She was like a rock for everyone to lean on. Yunokawa seemed more like an adult than any of the other students. But at the same time, there seemed to be a soft, childish look to her. Her eyes were firm and strong, yet there was a gentle touch to them, caring and sweet. The two things were usually opposites but someone Yunokawa reminded him of both at once.

Yunokawa looked almost taken aback by his question, her smile growing soft as she tugged out a weed with one effortless tug. "I had to grow up fast. Outside of school it's always just been me and my little brother. I've always had to be strong for him… But all the despair that's in the world I wanted him to be happy as well. It's where my passion for toys come from. I could always make him smile with his toys. I guess in short I was his guardian and his best friend all at once."

"You must be radical as an older sister, then." Kobayashi said with a big, cheesy grin. "That's so stellar, Koi."

The woman paused before smacking the scientist on the shoulder, her power knocking him into the dirt. Koba would have been alarmed if it wasn't for the giant grin on her face. "You're a cool guy, Fumio."

Fumio chuckled and opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by a loud announcement that buzzed through the nursery like a hive full of bees.

" _Gooood Evening students of Hope's Peak Academy! This is your headmaster Monokuma with a special announcement! There is a class meeting in the gymnasium in just a few minutes! Attendance is required! See you all in a few minutes!"_

"Do you think there's been another murder?" Iris whimpered as she wrapped her arms around her knees.

"No, that announcement sounds different," Yunokawa said as she stood to her feet, offering a hand to the mini botanist, "let's go together, okay, don't be scared."

Iris seemed to squeeze the large hand with her much tiny hands, taking the offer and help to get to her feet. Kobayashi quickly got to his feet as well, following as the two girls led the way to the exit. Sure, it wasn't a body announcement but Koba knew they should be worried about it. Though with the panicked look on the botanist's face finally fading away, Koba didn't dare bring it up. Guess he would just let this foreboding feeling keep doing some sick flips in his gut.

* * *

Hajime had already been in the gym when the announcement had went off. Hajime had been playing a card game with Sweeney, Kentaro, Kusonoki, Luna, and Gundam when the announcement broke through their fun and soured the mood. The game had been fun, even if all his new talents made it impossible to lose. For him the game had become more of losing on purpose than a challenge. Towards the end, Hinata was pretty sure Tanaka was catching on to his lies. The game was just getting really fun before…

...before they had to be reminded of the hellscape they were trapped in.

Now the teacher watched as students slowly entered the gym. It was comforting to see them enter in groups. It was sad but it wasn't safe for them to be alone in this school. He saw the barista come in with Souda and his entire group. The barista was being shaken by the large motivational speaker. Then there was Makoto, Bellerose, and Kaito. The Actor was letting the chef lean in close to him, as if whispering something before they both burst into laughter. Naegi paused before he laughed with them, though his was a lot more nervous than the students' laughs. Komaeda wandered in with Eguchi. Hajime let a small smile slip onto his lips as he watched the other teacher. He was glad to see that Nagito seemed to be doing okay. The last group of students came in without a teacher with them, just the botanist, toy maker, and the brightly colored scientist. With their entry, it looked like everyone was in the gym. That's when the voice sounded from behind him.

"Woah! Everyone got here super quick! It's great to see you all!" Monokuma let out another laugh and put his paws over his mouth. There was a long moment of silence before he talked again. "Well at least everyone responded to their call times this time around! I don't have to play hide and seek with any of you freaks!"

"What do you want?" Hajime said, sounding annoyed as he watched the stupid robot.

"Well, if you're in such a rush! If you force me to go faster you might hurt me!" Monokuma huffed as he tried to look cute, that weird pink formed on his cheeks like a blush. "You have to be gentle with me!"

Hajime was too grossed out to speak, the bear was so upsetting to listen too. He knew from experience what was about to happen. Monokuma was going to give the students a _**motive.**_

"Well, if no one wants to play along, that's fine. I have something even better for all of you!" Monokuma hopped off the stage as he walked up to each student, handing them each what looked like a photo. Hajime could only see the white backs of each of them from where he stood, their names scratched onto the back with a dark pen. "No peeking until everyone has theirs." Monokuma warned, directing it towards Sato, who had already went to flip it over. She quickly turned it back over, looking nervous at the bear's command.

"Now," Monokuma started as he passed the final one to Kusonoki, the girl was standing right next to Hajime as her shaking, pale hands gently received the photograph. "Everyone take a look!"

All the students flipped their cards at the same time, looking at the colored sides of the photograph. The same instant they flipped it over a scream filled the gymnasium, soon followed by another. Hajime watched with fear as the actor let out the first scream, his eyes glued to the photograph. The second came from Sugai. Hajime swallowed hard as the paranormal investigator next to him looked like she might start sobbing. The only person who didn't look upset was Himura, the kid was staring at his photograph with pure confusion.

"What the heck!" Yunokawa spoke up first, panic filled her face as she shouted across the gym, "what the fudge is up with these photos?"

"Puhuhuhuhuhuuuu!" Monokuma just laughed for a bit, all the students eyes were glued to him at this moment. "It's your next motive for murder! Each of you got a picture of the most loved person in your life in an… unsavory position. If a Murder doesn't happen in the next two days… "

He paused, waited a moment as his childish voice seemed to thicken with menace. His red eye glowed with the evil aura that seemed to surround the robot. "Your loved one in the picture will be murdered."

"What? Not my mommy!" Kaito cried from where he stood next to Makoto. "You can't hurt her, she's precious!"

Monokuma burst into laughter like the actor had told some kind of joke. "Then you better get killing!" Monokuma laughed before he crawled back onto the stage. "Now, I'll let you all enjoy your cute, new photographs! I'm looking forward to see you all so very soon."

As Monokuma vanished into the floor, dismay seemed to wash through the room like a flood, as if the words had finally set in like stone. Hajime heard Kusonoki start to sob violently before Gundam reached over to gently pat her back. Kentaro was shaking as he held his photo close to his chest. Students all over seemed to be panicking. Hajime swallowed as he went to take a step forward, but he saw Naegi was already a step ahead of him.

"Everyone, don't fall into despair. At times like these we need to trust in hope the most. If we work together we can get through this. There's a chance that these photos aren't real, or that Monokuma is just trying to trick you into killing each other. Remember everyone here is your classmate, we're all your fri-"

"A trick?" Kusonoki whimpered from beside Gundam, wiping tears from her eyes as black smudged across her face. "You mean my cat is okay?"

"You can't prove that!" Bellerose shouted from her spot next to the sobbing Kaito, "You can't stand there and tell us things you don't know are true! If he really does have my dad and if that bastard kills him that blood is on your hands Naegi!" The Chef tore up the picture before she started to storm out of the gym. "I'm not going to stand around with you idiots and pretend everything's okay!"

Everyone watched as Makoto went to speak more but the door slammed shut, echoing across the room and startling the scared students more. With a sigh, Makoto spoke up again. "Don't listen to her, okay? Now, if we share whose in our photos and talk about it, maybe it'll help you all feel a little better, okay?"

"My little brother." Yunokawa spoke first, a frown forming on her face. "They have my little brother."

"My Dog!" Sniggled the Botanist as she stayed close to the bigger girl, "He has my dog!"

Naegi nodded as a moment of silence fell over the gymnasium. When no one spoke up, Naegi gently started calling on people. "What about you Himura?"

Himura looked up, a little startled to be called on. His eyes bounced back and forth from his photo to the headmaster. "Uuuuuuh… Mine's blank."

Makoto paused and rubbed the back of his head, obviously wanting to pursue it more. Why would someone get a blank card. Makoto decided to move on to the next person."Uh, okay... Um, what about you Sweeney?"

The tiny artist crossed his arms, glaring behind his glasses. "This is dumb! I'm not participating in this!"

"But sharing might make you feel better," Hajime spoke up, looking over at the artist.

"Why? Himura didn't have to share who he got!" The artist barked, pointing a thin finger at the barista. "Why do I have to?"

Himura paused and glanced around. The barista looked more confused than anything. "Mines really blank though."

Sweeney growled and crammed his photo into his pocket. "Bellerose was right! You're all acting like we can pull through with the power of friendship or some lame shit like that!"

"Sweeney, restrain your anger," Gundam spoke up as he looked over at his students. "Naegi is only trying to lead you guide your mortal mind through this seething rage."

"Fuck this!" Sweeney growled as he too stormed out of the gymnasium. He was soon followed by other students who had yet to share their motives. The scene caused by the smaller student seemed to cause all the students to break apart. Slowly they departed until only Himura, Kusonoki, and the teachers were left.

Naegi rubbed his face as stress seemed to take over his entire demeanor. Komaeda strolled over to Himura, looking slightly disappointed as he went to take his photo. Himura didn't even say anything as he handed it over. Hajime started walking over to join them as Komaeda gave a large shrug.

"He's not lying, his is just a blank piece of paper," Komaeda patted the top of the barista's head with a slight chuckle, "looks like the mastermind didn't think there was anyone important in your life! How Lucky!"

"That isn't lucky," Souda quipped from his spot near the barista, "that's just sad."

Hajime sighed and rubbed his neck. Himura paused as he went to apologize. "Sorry, I guess. Feels like I started that whole argument."

Naegi walked over, now everyone left in the gym looped around each other in a large circle. "Don't blame yourself, they're all upset." Makoto looked up as his eyes scanned the other teachers. "I want the rest of you to talk to your students. Make sure we can comfort them as much as possible. We can't let another student die."

Makoto, Gundam, and Souda left first, Kusonoki staying close to her dark lord teacher. Hajime went to leave with Nagito but paused as the teacher leaned over and whispered something into his student's ear. Hajime couldn't stop the wave of concern that washed over him because of the gesture. Nagito only took a second before catching up with the brunette, leaving Himura alone in the gym. Hinata couldn't help the worried gaze he cast over the other teacher as he remembered his behavior during the killing games. He really hoped it wouldn't happen again. Unfortunately he knew he'd have to keep a close eye on Komaeda. Looked like there was a lot to do by tomorrow. Hajime just hoped they could prevent another killing. It had never worked before but… maybe this time they would get lucky...

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

 _I personally apologize if this edition of the fanfiction doesn't have the full content. Im used to AO3 and I feel like the story always looks better on there. Anyways I also wanted to add that if you want to talk to me or just chat about the fanfiction that's cool with me, never be afraid. The easiest way to get ahold of me is at Monokuma-Fever on_


	6. Just a Heads Up!

Author's Notes

Report Card: document/d/1bcXw989aO3Y-mPaH6oOYgTBPH3QN8bTLHSapRZQ5JJk/edit?usp=sharing

ALSO Guys, I have a few extra updates for everyone. First I have a favor to ask, we're getting closer to *potentially* juicier bits if you get what I'm saying. Personally I have really bad anxiety so I wasn't sure how to add in the SMUT sections of the fic. So if you guys could, could you copy this link and take this poll? Just so I know what to do? /poll896499xF82F4Dea-37

Thanks! In other news, The fanfic also has a Tumblr Blog. I also post updates and when new chapters come out. It's also a good place to share thoughts on the chapters, art, and you can even ask the students questions! So check it out if you want:

***I also made pixels for all of the students and teachers for this fanfiction and you can check them out there if you're interested.

* * *

" _Hey there! You look like you're new to this! I'm so glad to have you here tonight!" Monokuma bounced as he walked across the stage, it was almost completely empty except for a vending machine. With a spring in his step, the bear walked over to the machine and tapped on the glass. "I was just thinking about how much I hate these things! After the big war with despair I remember they installed a bunch of these vending machines where you had to smile to get a soda. How pretentious, right?"_

 _The bear looked around as if he expected a laugh, shifting before pressing up against the glass again. "Didn't they realize that people filled with despair can smile too? It's so much easier to smile then with hope. Plus that's not even touching how horrible a product like that would be for business! You're giving stuff to people for free just because they smiled! Only a fool would ever think that was a good idea! Well, That was your first Monokuma Theater! See you next time!"_

* * *

Himura was surprised to see everyone had showed up for breakfast this morning. After yesterday's scuffle, he had expected at least Sweeney to skip out on breakfast but he could see the silver haired artist from here. The thin figure was sliding into a chair next to the seamstress. Himura watched him for a moment before waving him over to them. Himura felt his muscles tense for a moment before glancing around. No one else was in the vicinity, so he couldn't be pointing at him. Confused, he turned back to look at the artist, the guy just looked frustrated as he waved him over again. Himura swallowed before he finally felt his legs move towards the artist.

"Hey Himura," The barista was always surprised how orotund the tiny artist's voice was, "way to stick it to the man yesterday, Himura."

Himura was confused but quietly slid into the seat next to him. "I didn't stick it to anyone… my paper was really blank."

Sweeney snorted and leaned over the table. "You don't have to lie about it dude, it's fine. I don't like when people call me out in big groups like that, ya know?"

Himura nods, thinking back to middle school when teachers used to call on him while he was daydreaming. He remembered how embarrassing it was to be called out in front of all those other kids. Yeah, Kazuki definitely understood where the little artist was coming from. "Yeah, it's scary to have that many eyes on you at once."

Sweeney nodded but he paused as Kusonoki flopped into a seat by their group, sitting across from Luna as she glared over at Sweeney. He paused before one of his thin fingers moved to push his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. "What? Why do you look so mad?"

"Were you possessed by some kind of demon yesterday? The words that spilled from you were cold and harsh," Kusonoki leaned over the table, her eyes focusing on the artist, "do I need to exorcise it from your body?"

"No, I just don't like being called out in a group!" Sweeney huffed, looking slightly annoyed, "Besides, Himura didn't share so I didn't want to share either. It's simple."

Luna glanced up from her breakfast to look at the other people in the group. She looked worried for a moment before speaking. "I thought it was rude too, making us talk in front of the entire group… What if ours was embarrassing?"

Everyone looked at the seamstress, luckily Sweeney said what they were all thinking. "What do you mean embarrassing? How can a loved one be embarrassing?"

Luna paused before she turned dark red and covered her face. Himura was about to question it more but turned as the chair across from Sweeney let out a groan as it was pulled out from under the table. The dark figure glided into the chair with a smooth motion, the purple scarf around his neck fluttering around the chair for a moment before finally resting against the back. His duel eyes drifted around everyone at this side of the table before finally resting on Sweeney.

"My Devas said we'd find you here, I believe you have been avoiding us. We do not blame you since our level of power must be terrifying to witness. However we must make direct contact to discuss your behavior yesterday."

Sweeney groaned as he folded his arms across his thin chest. "Why is everyone on my ass today? I don't wa-"

"Do not fret, I will not force you to share. But do not forget, you are my pupil and therefore I must use my dark powers to keep you from harm!"

Himura watched as the teacher clenched his fist, the way he talked was… absurd, why would anyone talk like that? Himura wasn't sure he understood how any of this was supposed to be comforting, he glanced at the tattoo artist, he half expected the artist to keep yelling but instead… he was surprised to see a gentle look wash over the boys face.

"You're not going to make me share?" Sweeney's voice was gently, almost breaking in parts.

Gundam nodded, his weird hair bouncing with his head. "I, the great Lord Tanaka, do not need to hear the petty words of the motive! I shall pass my strength on to you, mere mortal! With my power at your side you will overcome this treacherous episode!"

Sweeney paused a moment, Himura tried to read his face, to pull something familiar out of it but he got nothing. It wasn't that there was no emotion present on his face, it was that there were too many at once. Some mixture of emotions that Himura couldn't read properly. Either way, it seemed like whatever the teacher was trying to do worked.

"Let's all go do something!" Kusonoki spoke up from her seat, looking over at her teacher with excited eyes. "Maybe we can find the spirits who lurk through these halls…"

"Well I wouldn't be surprised if there were ghosts," Luna said from her seat, "Hotta and Kagabu both died tragically here."

Himura watched as the pale girl grew even more pallid, almost picking up a green color to her skin. She didn't speak before nodding weakly. "Y-You're right… mmmaybe we can talk to our f-friends?" The ghost hunter no longer sounded enthusiastic about the idea, instead she looked like she was going to be ill. The barista couldn't help but be reminded of her reaction to finding the body, she was probably thinking about it right now. _Great, now Himura was thinking about the girl's body, the blood everywhere, her dead...cold eyes seemed to be staring at him… her lips moving in silence as she tried to speak to him asking him fo-_

"Woah, are you going to be okay?" Luna's voice broke Himura from the dark, his eyes quickly looking back over the group. Luna's words seemed to be directed at Kusonoki who had taken on the looks of a ghost herself. Himura was glad no one had seemed to notice his own crisis. He shifted in his seat to look at the other student as she spoke, barely noticing that Gundam's gaze was glued to him for a moment. "You look like you're going to be sick."

"I-I just sensed a ghastly presence, that is all!" Kusonoki's voice was shaky as her hands reached up to cup her face, "The ghost is sucking all the energy from my body! That is all!"

Sweeney chuckled and slipped out of his seat. "Well do you guys want to hang out or not? We can't do much just sitting here."

Himura watched as everyone else stood up, Luna giving a big nod before clenching her fist. "Yeah! What would you guys want to do?"

"Well," Himura said as he went to take a short sip from his coffee, "There's not a lot to do. But we can always just talk."

"Oh! Like gossip? I love gossip!" Luna smiled as she rubbed her little hands together.

"There's nothing here to gossip about," Sweeney remarked as he glanced around, "no one is doing anything to gossip about."

"True," Luna said with a sigh, "the only thing to gossip about is Himura and he's right here."

"Me? Why would you gossip about me!" Himura was a little startled about that, his head tilting slightly as he tried to understand why they'd gossip about him. "What did I do that was talk worthy?"

"Well there was your performance at the trial," Luna said as she tucked her hands in front of her, pressing them against the fabric of the dress with a soft smile, "that was pretty suspicious behavior."

"Suspicious? I just actually investigated. That's not suspicious." Himura objected, crossing his arms as Sweeney decided to carry on the subject.

"Plus that meltdown you had after the execution, people have been talking about that a lot too."

"And how you're always eyeing Kaito, we ta-"

"Okay! Okay, that's enough!" Himura could handle the talk about the trial and the meltdown afterwards. Talking about that was a good way to cope with those events, to get them out of everyone's system. But when Luna brought up Kaito? _He wasn't even doing anything strange, he was just… examining him?_ Even in his own head it sounded weird, but even so, it was none of their business to talk about it. He just wanted to move on to something else at this point.

"That's obviously a touchy subject." Luna giggled as she started walking towards the exit of the dining hall.

"It's not touchy, it's personal." Himura paused as he glanced around nervously. "Is it really that obvious? I didn't think it was obvious."

Luna giggles more before shaking her head. "It wasn't obvious, don't worry. I just have a keen eye for these things. I wasn't even sure until I got that reaction of yours right now."

"That sounds like a useless ability to behold." Himura had almost forgotten about Tanaka following the rear of the group. "How could such a weak skill aid one in battle?"

Luna laughed as they left the dining hall, she looked really amused by the remark. "Aren't you silly! Gossip is great for business. When you're stitching an entire dress you HAVE to ignite some kind of conversation. Part of being a good seamstress is making your customer comfortable during the long hours of work!"

"You have to do the same thing when you tattoo," Sweeney spoke up as he pushed his glasses back onto the bridge on his nose, "I have to keep up conversation while I'm working too. It's pretty useful to be able to pick up other people's interests in a moment's notice."

"I talk to the ghosts," Kusonoki's eyes widened as she tried to wedge herself into the conversation, "speaking with them helps summon them from the shadows."

"I see. The dark resonance of my voice is often required to tame hostile beasts." Tanaka clenched his fist, probably recalling some dark, twisted memory of his.

It all seemed to make sense, all these jobs required some form of speech. It just made him recall his own job. Sure, being chatty as a barista was really helpful, making people comfortable within the cafe and feel as if he really cared about how their day was going. But he had never been very good at that, the whole talking with customers thing. He'd always have… had help with that. He definitely was recruited for his social skills, nope, he was purely scouted on his perfection of the art of coffee. It was something he was supposed to work on once he actually got into the school.

But with that in mind he really did learn more about their talents, even if they were only little facts. He felt like they had all grown a little closer, especially since they hadn't asked him to leave yet. Himura let out a yawn as he went to separate from the group.

"Hey, where are you going?" Himura paused mid step as Kusonoki had went to grab his arm. "We were all just about to find something fun to do!"

Himura chuckled and shrugged. "I need to grab some more coffee, I'll catch up with you guys late, okay?"

Sweeney scoffed as a weirdly devious smirk crossed his round face. "We'll hold you to that, see you later, Himura."

He watched as the group went on it's way, heading off towards the stairs. Maybe they could find something fun to indulge in on another floor. Himura yawned as he went back to his room, messing with his new, personal coffee machine. Working to make himself a nice, tall, warm cup of his favorite nectar.

With a new cup resting in his hands, Himura left his room only to be overcomb by a strange smell. He paused, taking a deep breath to pull it into his nostrils. It was strong, overpowering the smell of his coffee. Himura wouldn't say it smelled awful, just earthy, like a pile of fresh soil and maybe some freshly cut grass. It wasn't s smell he expected to pick up in the hall of the school. It only took him a moment for him to locate Kentaro a few feet away. Figures the vegan would smell like a walking plant.

"Himura!" Kentaro waved, pushing himself off the wall as he walked closer and causing the smell to grow stronger, "I've been looking all over for you."

"For me?" Himura puzzled over the idea, why would someone be looking for him? "Well you weren't looking very hard, I've been in the kitchen all morning. Didn't you come eat breakfast?"

"Not with those savages. There's always so much eggs and milk. Just watching people eat it makes me feel nauseous. So I've been eating breakfast alone in my room… all meals, actually."

Himura opened his mouth to say something, but he decided it was better to snap it shut. He felt a familiar pit form in his gut. Eating alone sounded like it sucked. "Well, what did you want?"

"I want you to make me coffee." Kentaro was getting straight to the point, his eyes glancing around nervously as he glanced at Himura's own cup. "You like to do that right? Make coffee?"

Himura chuckled and started heading back towards his room. "It's the only thing I'm good at, so yeah, I do enjoy it. Now come inside my room and I'll whip you up something that will knock your socks off."

Himura held the bedroom door open as the vegan followed him inside, he immediately began digging through his stacks of coffee beans in the corner. He had an assortment of types, ones he'd collected from the storeroom down the hall and a few he had brought with him to the school. The barista didn't know too much about the vegan lifestyle but he did know a lot about coffee. He knew from experience that some types of beans weren't considered 'acceptable.' So he carefully selected the brand before tossing it into the machine. Carefully he selected the perfect cup from his large selection, one that looked like soil with a gritty texture to the smooth ceramic.

He worked around the small island of a counter in his room as the rest of the world seemed to melt around him. The only thing he could think of was the smooth nature of the coffee as it poured into the cup like a dark waterfall, filling the air with it's rich essence as his entire being seemed to form around this one cup of coffee. The movement's came naturally as nothing stopped his perfect, fluid movements. Everything about coffee was so smo-

"So, how'd you get into making coffee?" Kentaro's hoarse voice broke Himura from his thoughts. The real world seemed to meld back into his vision.

"Well I started making coffee when I was 8," Himura decided to tell the short version of his life story, the longer adaptation took too much time to go over, plus it contained too much personal details. The shorter version was always better. "My current family owned a cafe. They let me mess around with that stuff, taste it, mix it, really experiment with all these different elements." As he worked, he could feel the memory guiding his hands through the process. "It was nice, then at my next family, I kept experimenting with it all, had them taste my concoctions and kept experimenting. When I was 16, I got a job at a cafe, course it was really slow all the time but I had full range of all the machinery. I never felt more alive than when I was making coffee. And people were always happy with what I made them."

"So it came naturally?" Kentaro asked, taking a few steps closer to Himura. "Just watching you, I feel like I can see the instinctive way you move, you don't even think about it. It's pretty engaging."

"What about you?" Himura asked as he handed the coffee cup over to the beanstalk of a guy. "How'd you get that Ultimate Vegan stature?"

"Well, my parents were vegan, so I started off Vegan too." He stared down at the warm cup in his hands, looking it over with contemplative eyes. "The aftermaths of the despair really took a tole on our Earth. After all of that war and killing there wasn't a lot left. Everyone really tore it up. Jeez, there wasn't even a lot of animals left after we were done tearing it apart. Once I really got a good look at what was left I felt like it was what I had to do, you know? Lessen my imprint on what was left of our ravaged world. This has soy, right?"

"No, Coconut milk. I think coconut is a lot better… personally." Himura watched as the vegan took a long, drawn out drink from the cup. "I didn't expect such a… well such a real answer."

Kentaro hummed before smiling. "Woah, this is really good! You know what you're doing!" Kentaro snickered as he went to take another long drink of it.

"So, I was going to go watch some movies up in the rec room, do you want to come?" Himura figured it was a good idea to invite the guy. To be friendly with everyone was the goal, right?

"Sure, I could probably stick around for awhile." Kentaro was suddenly talking in a snood way again, as if he knew something Himura possibly couldn't understand. "Lead the way and I'll follow, for now."

* * *

"Oh good, you actually came." Eguchi sounded surprised, but not really excited. A small smile leaked onto her lips as she showed off those pearly fangs of hers. "And you brought Kentaro… guess that's cool too."

"You know you all wanted me to come." Kentaro quipped as he slowly sipped from his coffee cup.

"Please honey." the voice was like velvet, soft, smooth, and something you definitely wanted close you. Himura hadn't even seen Kaito over by the DvD's until the tall figure stood to his feet. "Everyone knows I'm the life of every show. The only one the people desire s me."

"You're definitely right about that." Bellerose spoke next, her large pony tail following her every move as it swung like a pendulum. "Kaito is a man of dreams, and anyone who doesn't know that is a fool."

"I don't know, I gotta say I'm pretty amazing myself, right Himura?" He felt Kentaro's hand gently pat his shoulder, as if to try and gain the barista's side. Sorry buddy, wrong time for that.

"Uh- I don't know - I don't pick sides." Himura quickly spat out. Neutrality helped prevent conflict in most of his situations.

"Don't be stupid!" Bellerose growled, clenching her fists tight as she glared over at the barista. "The choice is obvi-"

"Hush now, sweet Candi. Himura knows who's really got his heart." Kaito winked, his lashes batting over his crystal pool of an eye. Every hair on Himura's body stood on end as his heart skipped a beat. The gesture was directed towards him… no it was FOR him.

"She's right, Kaito's got you beat by a lot, sorry Ken." Himura spoke quickly as he tried to regain himself.

Kaito laughed, a high pitched, beautiful laugh as he gently touched the tips of his fingers to his chest. He was still wearing it, that large, white sweater that hung off his well crafted shoulders. Just barely ending above his tight lower body, his legging hugging every curve of it. There was no doubt in his mind why he was so arrogant but the actor definitely had the assets to back it all up.

"Can we just get to the movies?" Eguchi stepped forward as she looked slightly annoyed at everyone in the room. "That's why we're here, right?"

"You're so right, darling! Let's get this movie train started!" Kaito said as he went to flop down on the couch.

Himura chuckled slightly as he went to follow, pausing as the door behind them opened. It took a moment for his eyes to focus on the teacher in the light of the door. His eyes adjusting to the sudden light that poured in from outside. Soon he came to focus on the white haired teacher. The ghastly pale skin and strange green jacket that was stitched to look like some kind of formal wear.

"I heard you guys were watching a movie together!" Komaeda said with a grin on his face, "would you care if I join you."

"Of course not, Komaeda-Sensei," Eguchi spoke up, a gentle smile forming on her lips, "the more the merrier, especially with watching movies."

Komaeda let out a wispy laugh and a thanks before he took his seat in one of the lounge chairs to the right of the couch, closer to where Kaito was now seated. Himura slowly walked over, wondering if he should just sit on the floor before Kaito grabbed him by the wrist. Goosebumps sprang up on his skin from the warm touch.

"Why don't you sit on the couch with me? You know you want to." His voice was soft, and without a second though, Himura plopped himself down on the couch next to the actor. Swallowing hard as Eguchi sat on his other side.

"Now you all better be excite," Himura hadn't noticed Bellerose had left until the girl had come back with a few large bowls, "because I made the best popcorn you'll ever have in your miserable lives."

Himura chuckled as Eguchi took a giant bowl for herself, digging into it before Bellerose handed Kaito a bowl of his own. She made eye contact with Himura for a moment before shrugging. "You can share with Eguchi." Before she handed a green bowl to Kentaro, who had tucked himself into the lounge chair to the left of the couch. She even had a small bowl for Komaeda. Himura guessed she really was ready for unexpected guests. Made sense, she was the Ultimate Chef. Once all the food was handed out, Bellerose flopped into her own seat next to Eguchi. The special effects master seemed glad to finally be able to start the movie.

A few seconds into the film and Kaito passed his popcorn bowl over to Himura, mentioning how the treat was just too fattening for his perfect body. Himura definitely didn't mind as he dove into it. There was no doubt in his mind that this was the best popcorn he'd ever had in his life. A perfect amount of butter and salt along with other flavors he didn't imagine ever putting on something so simple. It only took Himura a few second to eat the entire bowl. It was nice, spending time with everyone as they watched over this movie. It had some kind of overused plot of a man needing to get home to his wife and kids, something that had been used again and again in almost every movie. It would have been a mess if it wasn't for the acting, the performers really seemed as if they were the only thing carrying this movie.

Himura shouldn't have been surprised when he saw Kaito as one of the starring roles. Hell, he almost didn't recognize the actor with the loose clothes and short hair. But glancing over at the warm body next to him he really could see it was him. The freckles, the wonderful crystals for eyes, that slender body that seemed to melt from his broad shoulders. Yeah, it was definitely Kaito. The things that were off just seemed to be movie magic.

Himura paused as the movie neared it's end, he glanced over at Kaito once again, now the actor was hunched over and half asleep. With a gentle smile, Himura turned towards Eguchi as a question sprung up in his mind. "So what's the hardest thing for you to do?"

"Honestly," Eguchi put the rest of her handful of popcorn in her mouth as she side eyed Himura, he quietly wondered if she was irritated by his question. It was hard to tell with that constant smooth expression of hers. "I personally hate tooth gaps."

"What?" That wasn't anywhere near what he had expected. "Tooth gaps are what get you the most?"

"Well, yeah, monster makeup is easy. I can be creative in how I do it, craft amazing creatures and if I run into a problem there's always more than one solution. But teeth are frustrating as it is, full denture caps clip on but give actors a hard time talking, but even those can't be used for a gapped set of teeth. The only solution is to draw on the teeth or use dark spirit gum, but even then, up close, everyone can tell it's fake."

"That actually sounds really frustrating…" Himura sighed, but at the same time it made sense. He glanced back at the movie as a weird feeling formed in his gut. He didn't know what caused it but it seemed fairly easy to brush off. "It's like making an iced espresso without any ice."

"Uh-Sure Himura...sure." She sighed as she leaned back in her seat, finishing off the last of her popcorn before glancing around at the other students. "Too bad the movies over already."

"We can always watch another one," The suggestion came from Komaeda as the teacher shifted around in his chair. In the dark of the room with only the bright light of the tv the lucky student looked like a ghost. Almost as if he'd entered this world unnaturally. "I'm just wasting time anyways."

"Wasting time?" Himura was confused, did the teacher have somewhere to be? Some important event to get to? He knew the teachers only spent their free time with their students so what could Komaeda be refering too.

"Wasting time in this school, being here in general is just draining important hours away." Komaeda let out a long, wispy, maybe even sad sigh as he slouched in his chair. "Hajime and I have somewhere else we should be. We both need to get home as soon as we can."

"Why?" Himura dared to ask though he felt like he wouldn't get a real answer.

There was a slight pause, as if something clicked in the teacher's brain before he sat up in his chair, his entire demeanor changing as his shoulders humped into a large shrug. "Did I say something? Bellerose this popcorn was amazing, even something so simple can be brought to it's max by an Ultimate. It's absolutely outstanding."

"Thanks, gramps." Bellerose didn't sound like she cared, obviously more interested in the last few seconds of the movie. She even seemed a little irritated and Himura couldn't help but wonder if it was because of Kaito's popcorn.

"You're dodging his question, Komaeda-Sensei." Eguchi spoke up, leaning forward a little, the gesture squishing Himura closer to the sleeping Kaito. "I know Hinata-Sensei said you needed to stop doing that."

Himura saw it, a weird, empty expression washed over Komaeda's face as he stood up. It was quickly replaced with another smile, a hollow, phony smile. "Well, looks like it's time for me to go! A worthless heap of bile like me shouldn't have ever spent time with you all. I'm truly sorry I wasted all of your time."

Kentaro peaked over his seat as he watched the teacher leave. Glancing back over at Himura before looking more confused. "What was his problem?"

"Probably your odor," Bellerose quipped from her seat, finally pulling herself away from the movie, "It's been bothering me since you got here."

"That's obviously not what's bothering him. I've heard Hinata tell him he's not supposed to degrade himself like that." Kentaro looked highly offended by her remark as he lifted his jaw up, the bottom of his nose visible from his raised placement. "Plus my odor isn't bad, it's natural. If anything would upset one's body it would be that artificial, nature killing garbage you spray yourself down with every day! That and the tainted aura of yours, infected with the lingering remains of all the animals you've killed."

"Oh shut up. Meat tastes good, don't try and guilt trip me about it." Bellerose barked back, her hands clenching up into tight fists. "And my perfume smells great you asshole."

Himura groaned. Maybe it was time to leave. Seemed like this little get together had been heavily dampened by Komaeda's leave. At the same time, though, Himura liked the warmth coming from Kaito's sleeping body. His body really didn't want to move. That was until Kaito shifted, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. A long yawn escaping him before he stood to his feet.

"Time for me to take my leave." His hips swayed as he headed towards the door. "I only like fights when they're over me."

Himura got up embarrassingly fast as he went towards the door too. "I have a lot of things to do today so I should get going too." He trailed after the actor, glad when he was finally removed from the tense room. When the door was shut behind him he could already hear more arguing on the other side. He was even more glad he'd left at this point.

"You should really try to get some sleep, those rings under your eyes are getting really dark." Himura glanced back up at Kaito, his face suddenly blasted with heat as he realized how close the actor was to his face. "It's very unbecoming of your soft look. Do me a favor and go to bed early today, okay? Those harsh gashes under your eyes absolutely throw off your round, soft look."

"I-I can try, sl-," Himura stuttered out, "sleeping doesn't usually work out for me and-"

Himura was cut off by the sudden placement of a slender finger over his lips. Kaito's face was so close… the smell of strawberries and perfection washed over him in a thick wave. Up close his eyes wavered and couldn't decide what to focus on. Those beautiful, blue pools of crystal that made up his eyes, or the plush lips that moved over his perfectly straight teeth or even the darkened, freckled skin that seemed to carry no flaws. Everything called for his attention all at once and before he could really register it the godly figure was speaking.

"Try to sleep, for me, okay?"

"O-Okay." Himura whispered out, watching as Kaito turned and headed down the hall, hips swaying with a calculated precision that was purely entrancing. Himura couldn't move any of his muscles for a moment. They were locked in place as he took a deep breath. It took him longer than he'd like to ever admit. Well, it looked like was going to try a little harder to get some sleep tonight. Or at least make Kaito think he tried to sleep. Heading back to his room, Himura was actually a little sad. How nice it would be if his insomnia could be magically cured by pretty boys. If it worked that way Himura would never have problems sleeping again. Either way, Himura went back to his room and decided to lounge for a bit until he figured out who to spend time with next.

* * *

Koba hadn't seen Iris in a while, figuring she was still probably locked up in the greenhouse with the toymaker. The two were spending a lot of time in there. Though, in the long run, it made a lot of sense. Iris was the Ultimate Botanist, so why would she spend her time anywhere else?

With a low sigh, Koba reached into the pocket of his windbreaker, rustling his hand around as candy wrappers fell from his pocket. They fluttered to the floor as he desperately searched for another piece of candy. He gave his hand a few more wiggles before moving over to the next pocket and rummaging through even more wrappers. A loud groan escaped his throat as he came to the saddening realization that he was out of candy.

There was only one solution to such a dilemma. Koba headed over towards the storeroom near the dorms, knowing that there was tons of candies stored away near the back of the room. If he acted quickly he could hord it all back in his room. Using his thin, toothpick like legs, Koba walked over to the store room, ducking inside as he quickly looked around to grab a box of candy from the very back of the room. As he was cramming as much candy into his pockets as he could, Koba heard the door open behind him.

"What the hell are you doing?" The voice belonged to the tattoo artist, Koba didn't even need to turn around to recognize the higher yet raspy voice of the tiny artist.

"I'm gettin' my treats, dun worry about it." Koba turned around, his pockets completely filled with candy as he faced the guy who seemed to hate him the most in this entire school. "What are you doing here?"

"I was grabbing a snack." Sweeney shrugged as he went over to grab one of the nasty granola bars from one of the boxes. How could anyone eat that crap?

"That shit ain't even got no suga, how can you eat it?" Koba questioned, throwing up his hand in a puzzled manor as his facial expression twisted enough to bare his teeth. "Are you outta your mind?"

"Everytime I talk to you I want to punch you in your dumb face." Was all Sweeney said before the door to the storehouse swung open once more.

The entering figure was so big that most of the light was blocked from entering the room, making it hard for the sk8r's eyes to focus on Yunokawa right away. But when he finally did, he jumped up and put out his fist, surely she'd accept the gesture. "Yo Yo Yo! If it ain't the big lady!"

Yunokawa brushed right past him, heading to the back of the storeroom. Koba paused before following her back there, barely noticing the footsteps of Sweeney as the two met her in the back of the storeroom. "Extra quiet today, huh?"

"I'm just getting snacks for Carol, she was getting hungry but she's been too busy working to come down and eat." Yunokawa didn't even look at the little scientist as she gathered what she needed, putting it into her work box that she always kept with her.

Koba took a couple steps back, clicking his tongue as he shot a few finger guns at her. "I get it, she's gotta have someone taking care of her. She's too pure to live any other way, a sunflower in this bleak, _**OOMPH**_!"

Kobayashi bumped into something heavy behind him, not even a moment went by before he was crushed underneath some heavy cylinders. His head hit the ground and he could feel blood trickle from his nose as he laughter filled his ears. He could see Sweeney swaying back and forth as the artist held his gut, laughter bellowing from his lungs.

Yunokawa sighed as she walked over, lifting the heavy cylinders from the lanky noodle's body and allowing him to scramble from underneath the pile. Koba quickly brushed himself off, his face pink from splattered blood and embarassement. Especially after he saw his newly aquired candy scattered all over the ground.

"Aw man," he whined, moving to pick them up, "what the hell was that, anyways?"

"They look like spare carpets," Yunokawa said as she balanced them back up against the wall.

"Well they need to watch where they're going!" Koba barked as he started cramming some of the candies into his mouth, a bit of blood and drool sliding down his face. "They could have killed me!"

"Life would be too easy if they had killed you." Sweeney remarked before glancing at Yunokawa. "I'm leaving before he says anything else. I don't know how you haven't killed him yet."

The toy maker shrugged before she too started to leave the storeroom. "Iris thinks he's funny, so I let him live."

They both laughed as they exited the storeroom, leaving Koba in the dark for a moment. "Losers," He mumbled to himself as he grabbed a full box of some old fruit snacks he saw on his way out. One day they'd see just how cool he was. And Iris thought he was funny, that was important too.

* * *

Himura rubbed his eyes as sleep continued to elude him. It still wasn't too late into the night when he noticed the small yellow paper that was sticking out from underneath the door. He walked over to the door, slowly tugging it out from it's snug placement between the floor and the carpet. Pulling it up close to his face, he looked over all of it. The handwriting was small and neat, obviously created by a steady hand. The contents of the note didn't really take him off guard either.

" _Himura I wanted to talk with you about something important. I feel as if I may know something about the next killing. I can only trust you with this information. Please, come to the rec room at 9, right before the Nighttime announcement."_

There wasn't another name on the note, even flipping it over to the other side, Himura couldn't seem to find any signs of a signature. Shrugging, he glanced over at his room clock, the lanky black hands telling him he had five minutes to get to the rec room. Well shoot, he better hurry if he wants to make it in time. Tugging his apron back on, Himura stepped out of his room.

Himura was caught off guard for a moment, his initial plan had been to head straight to the stairs, ignore all distractions so he wouldn't be late, but the sight was just too interesting for him not to stop, even if it was only for a second.

Kaito was looking down at the small figure of Makoto, both of their lips moving as they talked but they were too far away for Himura to make any of it out. Honestly, though, Himura didn't think it was too out of place. Seemed pretty normal for the headmaster to talk to one of his many students. Maybe he had just been amused by the height difference between the two or maybe it was just Kaito… the actor did seem to capture his eye any time the slender figure was near him.

Himura saw their conversation suddenly stop, he wasn't sure why at first, but their lips just stopped moving. Slowly Kaito turned, moving to face Himura with smile that sent warm trembles up his back. To even more of his dismay, Kaito slowly started walking over to him, his steps clicking down the hallway. The actor's movements were as smooth as coffee and as sweet as a frappuccino. Himura quickly crammed the note into his apron pocket, storing it's contents into the back of his mind as the actor slowly loomed over him.

"Marshmallow, what are you doing," Kaito whispered, pouting slightly as he looked really disappointed, _ouch,_ "I thought I told you to get some sleep?"

"I'd love to," Himura choked out, the words seeming to get caught in his throat at the sudden nickname, "but I can't sleep. I have insomnia. Sleep is really hard to come by. Did you say marshmallow? Why would you call me that?"

"Ah, I understand. Too bad, you'd look a lot better if you got a full night's sleep." Kaito rubbed his jaw, looking as if he was examining the shorter Barista. "Do you not like Marshmallow? It is a little cliche, doesn't it? I could do better. But you're just so fluffy, I really thought it would fit better."

"Are you trying to give me a nickname?" The words popped out before Himura could really think about it but honestly he was really surprised. Why would the actor be trying to give him a nickname? Wasn't that a little too personal.

"Don't get too wound up in it," Kaito remarked, rolling his eyes as he dismissively waved one of his slender hands, "I give everyone nicknames. It's a lot easier than remembering their names."

"...right…" Himura mumbled as the Actor glanced around. Of course it wasn't something personal it was just so the guy didn't have to remember their real names. It was actually really lazy. If Kaito wasn't so damn handsome he might actually be made for more than three seconds.

"Hey, do you have a few minutes?" Kaito asked as he glanced around the rest of the building. "I want to show you something cool."

At this point, Himura had already forgotten about the note. It probably wasn't that important that he went anyways. Everyone was getting along so well that he doubted anyone would be dying any time soon. He followed Kaito out to one of the classrooms, excited to see what the actor had to show him.

* * *

Breakfast had already passed as Himura carried a tray of food up the stairs. Iris had failed to come to breakfast this morning. Bellerose said someone should take her food up to her and Koba was the first volunteer. But everyone agreed that wasn't a good idea… The food wouldn't have even made it up to the botanist if that clumsy fool was left to carry it all by himself. So Himura sacrificed his own peaceful morning to help the scientist carry the food up the stairs.

"Did you know she's a vegetarian?" Koba was skipping every other step like some kind of middle schooler.

"I figured," Himura grunted as he tried to ignore the weird movements of the scientist, "how do you know that? I doubt she told you that."

The barista regretted looking over at the wannabe skater as his lips pulled themselves into a tight, devious grin. "Bellerose told me! She said that this was a vegetarian omelette just for her. So now I know even more about her!"

"Or you could ask her, like a normal person." They reached the top of the stairs, Himura could already feel Kobayashi draining all the energy from his body. "I bet she would have just told you in a normal conversation."

"But won't I look desperate?" The question sounded too serious for Himura too handle. It had such an easy answer… was he serious with that question?

"No, you'll be less creepy. Gathering information behind her back is kind of stalker behavior." Himura figured it was best to try and guide the guy away from this path. Better be safe than sorry, right?

"Oh, well I'll keep that in mind."

"Good." Himura walked into the greenhouse. The fresh air washing over him with a gentle breeze. Being inside the greenhouse was almost like being outside again. It resurrected memories of lazy days in the spring when he left the door open in the cafe. Letting the sweet air wrap around him as he worked on the newest cup of coffee. It was a feeling he was starting to miss.

"Good morning!" Himura was brought out of his daydream by the chime of Iris' voice. The girl was bent down in a distant pile of plants and bushes, working at some of the weeds sticking out of the ground. "What brings you guys here?"

"We brought ya breakfast, Iris!" Koba snatched the tray away from Himura as he waddled over towards the botanist. "Its ya favorite, vegetarian stuff."

Iris looked confused for a moment, Himura recognized it, the dumbfounded look everyone gave the scientist when he said something unbelievably stupid. That moment where they all questioned how he could be a real human being. But the moment passed quickly and soon the girl returned to her naturally smile. "I totally forgot to come get breakfast! I was so busy working."

Himura smiled as he went to stand a little closer. He watched as the botanist gently took the tray and set it to her side as she went back to working on the plants, her smile turning into one that carried a nurturing essence to it.

"I've been really grateful for this greenhouse." Iris's voice was gentle as she slowly started to tug out the weeds. "Everything that's happened has really taken it's toll on me… the lack of fresh air, all these new people, being locked inside this building… Not to mention all the fighting that's been going on. It's all been so overwhelming and I didn't know if I could handle it. But with this garden, I feel at ease. It helps me relax, keeps me busy so that I don't have the time to worry. Plus it seems like everyone's really been getting along! So maybe there won't be another murder! Maybe we can all just wait this out together!"

Himura didn't react soon enough, her fingers weren't wrapped around a plant as she tugged it out of the ground. At first it had looked like some kind of strange plant with weirdly wiry leaves. But as she tugged and it made it's way out of the ground, it's true nature became obvious. Koba screamed first, figuring what was going on first as the bright, neon pink blood dripped down onto the girl's overalls, mixed with the dirt that had covered up the head in the ground it made a sloppy mess down onto her as she held it over her lap. Himura watched in slow motion as the botanist reacted to Koba's scream first, then her eyes locked on the head that dangled from her hands. Fear enveloped her eyes as they widened at the site of the head. The site draining the color from her face as the sudden realization of what she had pulled from the ground.

It was a head, a decapitated head swung from her hand. The dirty blond hair looked so different when it wasn't pulled into that messy bun. The eyes were hollow, empty as they stared over, making contact with Himura in a tense moment. He had just seen him yesterday. How could he be dead now. Another murder had happened and this time Tomonori Kentaro's head had been the student to say goodbye much too soon. Severed from his body as he dangled from the frozen girl's hand.

" _A body has been discovered! Investigation is now underway! Gather all the information you can and prepare for the Class Trial!"_

Looked like he was wrong, actually, looked like they were all wrong. Seemed as if no matter how much they bonded their friendships couldn't prevent murder. At this very moment it felt as if there was no saving them from Monokuma's traps.


	7. Buried in a Bush

Author's Notes

Report Card: document/d/1iPRa3bjplbEk1FebuNRF5zWcG3j1m5T8LdSqLZ4PJiw/edit?usp=sharing

Silence hung in the air. Iris didn't move, she just stared, letting the head dangle from her hand with her wide, lost eyes drawn to it like a magnet. Koba was just screaming, loud and high pitched scream. Himura still couldn't wrap his brain around the fact that Kentaro was dead… and someone had buried his head in the dirt.

There was a moment's pause before Koba quickly bent down and pried the head from Iris' hand. "Put that down, you can't just hold it!" He sounded panicked as he got her to set it back down in the dirt. Iris' gaze was frozen on it, as if she couldn't look away. Kobayashi seemed to notice as he cleared his throat and snapped his fingers. "You can't look at it for too long, you need to-"

"Iris?"

They all turned to see Yunokawa walk into the garden, worry washing over her face as she walked in closer. "We heard the body discover announcement? Is everyone okay?"

Without a word Iris stood to her feet, causing Koba to take a few steps back as Iris slowly walked over to the toymaker. She still looked disoriented, as if her mind couldn't fully understand what was going on. Maybe the botanist didn't want to believe it yet, or maybe it was shock, but she seemed really out of it as she walked over to the other girl. Her voice was fragile, as if it was close to breaking. "I'm fine… I… I need... "

"She's got blood on her!" Yelped Sugai, one of his meaty fingers pointing at the girl's overalls.

Iris flinched at the loud voice, stepping away from the booming voice of the motivational speaker. She looked dazed as she stumbled away, almost as if she couldn't grasp what was going on. She only came to a stop when Yunokawa placed a large hand on her shoulder.

"Shut up, Sugai." Yunokawa ordered before suddenly lowering her voice to a gentle whisper, like one would do for a frightened child. "Iris, let's get you out of here. We can go wash your overalls, okay?"

Iris nodded and followed the toy maker out of the room. Himura took a second to just watch as they left. Silently he wished he could help his friend more but as he saw everyone gathered at the door, all of their eyes darting around the room as they searched for the body, Himura knew what he had to do. Another murder had taken place and that meant it was time for Himura to pull himself together. He pushed himself off the ground, looking over towards the door as he went to open his mouth, only to he beat to the punchline.

"There's been a-another murder, homies! " Koba spat out as he pointed down to the Vegan's head, "W-W-We're missing the rest of the body so me and our bro Himura will look for it. The rest of you start looking for clues! We need to be ready for the trial! And keep this in mind, whichever one of you fuckers did this will be discovered! And I swear that you'll get wrecked at this trial, ya dig?"

There was a pause in the students. They glanced around at each other before they seemed to disperse. Most likely they were going to go look for clues. Himura couldn't help be a little impressed by Koba's performance. The guy had been screaming just a few moments ago but the scientist had recovered dramatically fast. He stood tall for a moment, eyes still glued to the door and fists clenched. Determination seemed to radiate off of him.

"Wow, you really handled that we-"

Himura stopped mid sentence as the kid whipped around, loudly vomiting off into a nearby bush. The sound was disgusting and wet. Well, Koba had been impressive before this moment of weakness. Himura went to go look at the head before he heard Koba gag.

"How do you not get sick?"

"Excuse me?" Himura asked as he kneeled down next to the head to try and start investigating.

"You don't even look upset… isn't this the second time you've found a body? I mean even Kusonoki got sick and she probably looks up pictures of dead people online. Plus there's the smell a-" Koba was cut off as he continued to be sick, hunching over in the bush more as if he was trying to hide the act.

"Guess I just have a strong stomach." Himura remarked as he finally took the time to look over the head. But that was when he heard the ear splitting scream behind him. Himura sighed as he turned around again, only to see Kobayashi backing away from the bush.

"What? What's wrong?" Himura asked as he saw the haunted look on the skater's face. He ran over to the boy's side, only to have his eyes lock on the body tucked away in the bushes. There wasn't a lot of blood, just some pink stained into the guy's shirt. The only noticeable thing wrong was…. Was his missing head. Himura jumped as heard Koba run off to lose whatever he had left in his gut. That was when he heard a cackle behind him.

"What happened did someone eat gas station sushi?" Monokuma laughed, hugging his gut as he teased the grieving student.

"It's just Koba, ya loser. And what do you want?" Koba snapped, though it didn't sound too threatening from someone who'd just spilled their guts all over the ground.

"Just to give you boys the greatly anticipated _**Monokuma File!**_ What else would you guys do without it? I wanted to wait until you found _all_ of the body to give you the file."

Himura scoffed as he took the electronic book from the bear's hand, tapping on the screen as he went to look at it. Soon a picture of Kentaro popped up, a bright, pink slit was stretched over his neck.

" _The Victim is Tomonori Kentaro. The victim was found in two pieces inside the greenhouse. What killed him was decapitation."_

"These are always so useless. " Himura mumbled as he crammed it back into his pocket as he knew the information was next to useless to their cause. "Can you please go bother someone else."

"You're no fun!" Monokuma said as he vanished back into the floor. Himura was glad to do anything that might piss the little asshole off. With a sigh, Himura went back to the body, kneeling down near the head to start his own examination. The more time they wasted, the longer the killer had to hide from them.

"There you two are," Looks like there was more distractions introduced as Komaeda's voice bounced around the room, the teacher's footsteps could be heard entering the room, "you guys found the body, right?"

Himura glanced back at his teacher, only to see him trailing behind Hinata. He watched the teachers walk closer, worry on the shorter man's face as they approached the student. Then, Himura could see the moment the teacher laid eyes on the body. Something sparked across his face, something more than horror or disgust as his eyes glazed over, suddenly becoming swallowed by some unseen force. He looked faint, as if the teacher might collapse onto the floor. Komaeda reacted first, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Hajime?" He whispered close to Hinata's ear as he leaned in closer. "Are you okay?"

A moment passed before they could see the teacher breath again, slow shifts in his chest as his weight seemed to drift over towards the white haired teacher as his eyes slowly blinked back to life. "I… I just got a memory back, that's all."

"Oh that's right." Komaeda spoke as if there wasn't a body just a few feet away… why was he like this? "I remember Makoto mentioning it. How did it feel? Did it tickle."

A long sigh escaped Hinata's lips as he seemed to lean more into Komaeda. "Not right now, Nagito… I… Not right now… I'll tell you about it later… okay?"

Komaeda nodded as he walked Hinata over to a bench, having him sit before whispering something to him. Seeing the two reminded him of some married couple. Himura couldn't help but remember what his teacher had told him yesterday. His behavior had been suspicious, as if he was hiding something from the rest of the students. But if he wanted to keep it secret, why bring it up in the first place. Didn't it make more sense to bottle them up and bury then somewhere deep? Himura knew that's what he did with his secrets. Komaeda's behavior definitely didn't make sense to the barista.

Shaking his head, he decided to go back to examining the head near his knees. He could feel disgust twist in his gut looking at the head. Taking a deep breath, he dislodged all thoughts about his strange teacher and decided to focus on the present case. Looking it over, it was really strange that Kentaro's hair wasn't pulled up in a bun, the hair was down, looking even more dirty and matted than before. The hair ended down right where his neck was cut, weird, Himura had always thought it would be longer than that when it was down? Maybe he was mistaken, he'd never had longer hair himself so maybe he'd just made a misjudgment? But something did catch his eye about the fatal wound, just how clean it all was. _**The wound was smooth across, most likely done in one blow.**_ Yeah, that sounded right. A wound like this was important. It could possibly lead to help with the murder weapon.

"Do you know where the rest of the body is?"

"Ah!" Himura almost jumped out of his skin as Komaeda was suddenly leaning over his shoulder, whispering in his ear. "Yeah, it's over there by Koba." Himura pointed a finger over to where they found the body, finding himself slightly irritated at his teacher's lack of personal space.

He watched as his teacher took long strides over to the wannabe skater, their conversation carrying on as the two looked over the body. Koba still looked like he was about to vomit. Shaking his head, Himura turned back to the head, trying to find something that might stick out as strange. But something felt off and he couldn't put his finger on it… that's when it finally sunk in. _**Kentaro's face looked shocked but not in pain.**_ Weird expression for someone who got their head chopped off. It made Himura wonder if Kentaro was dead before he got his head lobbed off but that seemed impossible…. The Monokuma File said it was the cause of death. So… it looked like the death blow was quick. At least with that conclusion he knew that Kentaro didn't go through a lot of pain and for some reason that was at least a little comforting.

There didn't seem to be anything else about the head to take note on, no odd cuts or bruises on the cheeks, just dirt smudged all over the bluish skin of the dead vegan. The hollow eyes of the vegan seemed like they were staring at him, digging into his skin as they tried to beg for help… Just like they had with Hotta. Swallowing hard, Himura needed to pull away from the head, to work to detach himself from the body of his friend once again. He stood to his feet as his eyes dragged across the scene, looking for anything to pull his conscious mind away from the glossy eyes staring him down.

First he focused on Komaeda and Koba, the skater was leaned against a tree, looking a bit green as he seemed to finally reclaim control over his body. Then there was Komaeda, the teacher was crouched over the body, investigating thoroughly as his lips moved. He couldn't hear any of the words coming from his mouth, just the breathy sound of his voice. He could occasionally hear Kobayashi respond with a nod or a shaky " _yeah, teach."_ The two of them seemed like they had the actual examination of the body under control. No point in getting in their way, besides, Himura could always do his own investigation of the body after they were done.

Trying to figure out something else to investigate, the Barista's eyes locked on the omelet on the ground. Poor Iris, she didn't have any idea this would happen to her. She seemed to recover surprisingly fast. But maybe that was shock, seemed like that was what powered Koba when he directed the entire class. Once the adrenaline wore off he lost all that composure. Maybe Iris was going through the same thing. From what the barista could tell, the omelet looked like it was okay so he scooped it off the ground and went to leave the greenhouse, only to pause as he heard rushed footsteps behind him. With a sigh, he already knew who it was before he turned around.

"Are you taking that to Iris?" Koba was out of breath as he came to a halt at Himura's side. His eyes locking onto the omelet in Himura's hand. "Can I do it?"

"Listen, if you're trying to hit on her now's probably not a good time." Himura really wasn't in the mood to explain why that was a shitty idea. He had already started walking again when Koba grabbed onto his arm.

"Hit on her? No, I just want to make sure she's okay," Himura didn't pick up any alternative motive in his voice but still thought it might be a bad idea to hand the task over. That was until Koba kept talking. "Plus I need to get out of here. Just looking at that body is making me feel sick, bro. Plus Komaeda ain't making it any better! The guy just rambles on and on about death it's… I could handle the body after a bit, but I can't handle the way he talks right now."

"The way he talks?" Himura half mumbled it to himself, not really sure what the other student meant. But when he focused on his face, he could see an underlying layer of distress. Something deep inside of his eyes seemed desperate, pleading for this chance to escape. Himura decided it was best to hand the task off to Koba. "Okay, you go make sure Iris is okay, then ask around for clues. I'll investigate the body with Komaeda, does that sound good to you?"

Koba glanced back, eyeing the teacher for a moment before getting his usual, goofy grin on his face. "Totes bromie! I'll go get the rest of the deets on what everyone else saw. Good luck investigating, bro!" Before the blonde ran off with the plate of food. Himura couldn't help the pit of regret that suddenly formed in his gut, maybe the wannabe skater really had played him for a fool. Either way it was too late to take it back, the guy was already gone. With a sigh, Himura went to join Komaeda near the body. At least he had the chance to investigate the body now instead of later.

Himura hadn't really gotten a good look at Kentaro's remains until this very moment. Other than the missing head, the body looked surprisingly normal… and that was even more suspicious than before. His dark eyes wandered over to the white haired teacher crouched next to the body. Himura couldn't help but feel disgusted as he saw him rummage through the body's pockets. Wasn't that… disrespectful in some sense. It was a little jarring when the teacher turned his pale green eyes towards him, looking almost glad to see him as he kept digging through the vegan's pockets.

"Himura! I'm glad you came to join my search," He pulled something out of the boy's pocket, looking over the piece of paper in his hand as he continued to speak, "do you happen to see anything strange about the body?"

Now he was questioning him? Himura shrugged and decided to play along. Guess it was normal for teachers to expect their students to answer questions, right? Turning to look more closely at the body, Himura almost had nothing that stood out to him at first. He deeply pondered over it for a moment before it finally sunk into his brain.

" _ **There's almost no blood here.**_ " Himura said out loud as he looked over the body. Sure the collar of the shirt and jacket were stained in blood but the ground around the head? The plants? There was almost none of the sickly pink substance. Just a small pool directly below the neck wound. "With a neck wound like this, there should be a lot more blood."

"Good observation, Himura!" Komaeda said as he looked up from the small piece of paper. "Now, look at this." Komaeda said as he handed the paper to Himura.

Himura looked over the crumbled piece of paper with careful eyes. The writing was small but careful. The form of it seemed familiar for some reason. The reason suddenly making sense as he read the contents of the letter.

"Kentaro _I wanted to talk with you about something important. I feel as if I may know something about the next killing. I can only trust you with this information. Please, come to the rec room at 10, right after the Nighttime announcement."_

"Himura, are you alright?" Komaeda's voice slowly pulled Himura out of his trance.

"No, I got a note just like this last night… except the time was different…" Himura said as he handed the note back to his teacher. "I didn't end up going though. Kaito started talking to me and I kinda figured it wasn't that important."

"That's too bad." Komaeda said with a long, drawn out sigh. "Maybe the killer wanted your help? A mind like yours really could have tested your fellow students."

"What? I - why would I have helped the killer?" Himura watched as his teacher stood to his face, the lanky man putting one of his skeleton hands near his face. A breathy laugh escaping his cracked lips.

"Why, in the name of hope, of course!" Komaeda said it like that was some kind of conclusive answer. As if that was supposed to make any sense to the Barista. "Hope is the most important thing in the entire world, Himura! Despair helps hope grow stronger and allows hope to overcome the twisting claws of despair!"

"I'm not even going to open this can of beans with you." Himura mumbled as he stuffed the note into his pocket.

"Can of worms."

"What?"

"The expression is can of worms, not beans." Komaeda correct, looking at Himura with his weirdly calm smile.

"Ew, I like can of beans better," Himura said as he crossed his arms, "Why would you ever open a can of worms? Listen this isn't important and frankly very off track. I'm going to go check out the rec room. Looking into this note seems like a good idea."

"Fine with me, I'd rather stay here with Hinata anyways." The teacher waved a goodbye before going back to investigating the body, though Himura doubted he'd find much more. He was about to leave when another question sprouted in his head.

"If everyone's memories were erased, how come you remembered all of us?"

"Oh, is that bothering you?" Komaeda asked, not even turning around to face Himura. "I'm pretty sure you've noticed but my talent is absolutely useless. There wasn't very much for me to do at the school. I was just in the way of all the hard work I was doing. But then Hajime suggested I help scout for students! Since I have such respect for all of you real Ultimates. So the short answer would be we only lost our school memories but I clearly remember finding almost all of you and picking you for the very first class of the new Hope's Peak."

That was… a really good reason. Now that Himura really thought about it, he remembered the day he was scouted. Hell, it felt like it had only been a few weeks ago. The teacher was wearing a much different outfit when he entered, just some white t-shirt with a weird red design on it. The teacher had come in with another, a darker skinned girl with hair pulled up into a ponytail. The café had been empty and extremely slow and Himura vividly remembered his joy when the two new customers showed up. He couldn't recall every detail of their entrance, of their conversations, or even the other teacher's name. But he did vividly remember the coffees he made for each of them, the excitement on the girl's face and how her blue eyes lit up with joy as she drank her protein packed coffee he'd handed her before she even had the chance to order. The same with Komaeda, the joy he got from the teacher's pleased look and praise. He didn't even know they were talent scouts at the time, he was just glad to have something to do that day. After they drank their coffee they had huddled together, whispering with each other and occasionally throwing glances back his way… then they said they'd be back again tomorrow… god Himura remembered how excited he was, how he told every detail to….

Himura cut the memory there. He only wanted to remember the teachers, anyways, to confirm Komaeda's story. Himura didn't even realise his facial expression had grown bitter as he spit out a quick goodbye and left to investigate the rec room. Leaving with a slight sense of shame at how cold his exit had been.

* * *

Koba carried the the omelet over to Iris' room in silence, glad that the dead body was behind him at this point. Sure it would have been really nice to help investigate but the look of that guy's empty dead face was just too much for him to handle… But he crammed it into the back of his head, just like every other upsetting thing that ever happened to him. In the back of his head was a safe able to trap all those grotesque things in his mind in an inescapable steel cage in the back of his head. It all made very day living a lot easier to handle.

Koba arrived at Iris' bedroom door and paused for a moment. This is where she had to be, right? Yunokawa could have taken the girl to her room but he doubted that. Iris needed new clothes, especially since hers had gotten so much blood and dirt all over them. Her room would have the spare clothes so that seemed like the most logical location to find her. Clearing his throat, Koba gave a quick knock on the door.

It cracked open slightly, moving so very slowly before Koba saw one of Iris' blue eyes appear from between the door. Peeking out as the pupil shot up and seemed to focus on Koba for a moment. "What do you want?"

"I brought ya your omelet!" Koba gave a big grin as he held it out towards the door.

"Oh… I'm not hungry anymore, sorry." Her voice sounded weak and Koba was unsure if it was due to the murder or worries of sounding impolite.

"That's okay, I totes get it!" He glanced around the hall before leaning a little closer to the crack of the door. "I also wanted ta make sure ya didn't miss me too much."

Iris just stared at him for a moment and Koba could feel himself just wait for the door to slam shut in his face. He was so startled when she opened the door even more, a giggle rising from her throat as she did so. "You're so weird."

"Thank," Koba said, a big grin rising on his face as he went to look Iris over, "It's the least I- Oh where are your pants!" Koba immediately covered his eyes when he realised the girl was only wearing a large button up shirt, his face turning beat red as he refused to look. His hands shooting up to cover his eyes as he dropped the omelet to the floor.

"Koi let me borrow her shirt while she washed my overalls… They got all that dirt on them so she offered to wash them." Iris explained, her voice soft as she spoke.

"Well why didn't you put on more pants?" Koba asked, still too afraid to look.

"I only have one pair of overalls…" Iris admitted, sounding a bit embarrassed by this as Koba could hear her hands rub together. "So I have to wait for them to be washed. It's okay to look, Koba, this shirt goes down further than my shorts."

"That's not the point!" Koba could hear his voice crack as he continued to cover his eyes from the view. "I know you're not wearing any pants under there and you're practically naked!"

Iris giggled again and Koba could feel the tips of his ears heat up even more. "How about I go grab you a pair of my pajama pants, okay?!"

Iris was still giggling, lucky she wasn't irritated by his weird behavior.

"...How did investigating go… Do you know who the killer is?" The last half of the question was a whisper, delicate sound to anyone's ears. Koba slowly peeked out from between his fingers to see the worried look on her face. Dammit! Now he just felt like an idiot! He'd been too busy losing his breakfast to investigate properly and now he didn't have anything to tell her… no way to comfort her.

"We haven't found too much, our homie Himura is digging into the dirt of it all, lookin for the real clues." Koba started to explain, dropping his hands from his face and gesturing as he talked. "Komaeda and I didn't find out too much ourselves, busy lookin for the weapon."

Iris nodded and rubbed her arm, glancing around before taking a deep breath. "I just don't understand why someone would do that… it was so… brutal. " She paused a moment, pressing her bent pointer finger to the spot right below her bottom lip as she continued to speak. "Plus _**I was in the greenhouse almost all night**_ so I don't know when they could have buried his head."

Koba heard the words before they really clicked into his brain as important. He snapped his mouth shut before he looked at her with a serious stare. "You were in there all night? Are you sure?"

Iris nodded as she moved to nervously rub her hands together. "Y-yeah… I didn't see anyone in there all night and the only time I left was to use the bathroom, but I couldn't have been gone for more than 10 minutes!"

"That's not nearly long enough to kill someone, let alone bury their head in the dirt and get out without you seeing them." Koba pondered over it, maybe he really had found something useful.

"Plus, decapitation takes awhile. Can't just bust that neck open like that with a quick blow! Especially not with the dull tools in the greenhouse. You'd have to-" Koba paused when he heard a slight whimper, looking up to see as Iris' blue eyes start to water. He suddenly realized what the hell he was saying before waving his hands. "W-Wait! I'm sorry I didn't me-"

"Kobayashi," The deep hum of the voice behind him filled him with sudden fear, a sign he'd really messed up, "are you making her cry?"

"Not on purpose!" Koba yelped as he turned to face Yunokawa, the large toy maker towered over him and was at least three times his size.

"Well I think its time you leave." Yunokawa let out a gruff noise, making it obvious it was an order, not a request. Swallowing hard, Koba nodded and ran off. Not wanting to risk it as he listened to their conversation as he departed.

"I'm really okay, I'm not crying there's just dust in my eye. I'm fine." Iris objected, though she didn't sound too sure of herself.

"Let's get you inside," Was all Yunokawa said as he heard the girl escort the other back into the room. There was a slight pause as he faintly heard Yunokawa's last words before shutting the door. "Why is there an omelet in the floor?"

With a sudden feeling of guilt, Koba decided he'd head to the storeroom and see if there's any more candy for him to munch on there.

* * *

Stepping into the lounge, Himura already felt like something was out of place. The movies were still in place, the tv still large against the far wall. There were still a few remnants of their movie night as bits of popcorn littered the floor around the pink carpet… wait? Pink carpet?

Himura took a step closer, eyeing the carpet with a careful gaze. But he didn't need a careful eye to see the strange, pink, monokuma shaped rabbit that was now on the carpet. Maybe he was mistaken but last he remembered it was monochrome with a ugly portrait of Monokuma slapped onto it. Weird, _**why would the carpets change?**_

The carpet was clean, too, which was weird since occasional pieces of popcorn seemed to be scattered all around the hardwood floor surrounding it. Himura inspected over it closely but there wasn't a single piece in any of the fluffy carpet. Weird, since the carpet was right in a place guaranteed to get fallen debris on it.

Standing up, Himura figured it might be a good idea to ask Monokuma if he'd switched out the carpet. He didn't think it would be too far off to think that the little devil would try and confuse them with changing scenery. At the same time, however, he didn't want to just write it off as someone messing with him. Looking around the room, he tried to find anything else that might look suspicious. That was when his eyes locked onto the empty wall, two hooks hanging on an otherwise bare wall. They were almost unnoticeable with the missing content they were meant to carry. _**The sword was no longer on the wall.**_

Internally, Himura cursed himself for never figuring out if the sword was real or decorative. If the sword was real, then it could potentially be the missing murder weapon. But if it was just fancy decoration for this lounge then it could easily be Monokuma redecorating the room. Shrugging, Himura settled on the fact that it was too late to do anything about it now. All he could do at this point was to keep on investigating. Only with more information could he answer all of his questions. With one final glance around, Himura couldn't find anything else that seemed out of place. He turned to leave but was halted as the door swung open, causing Himura to have to quickly backstep to avoid being hit by the door.

"Sorry Himura!" Sato was the first to pop into the room, her big, toothy grin brightening her face as she stepped inside, "ya almost got busted with the door."

"No kidding," Himura remarked as he looked over the entering group. The group consisted of Sato, Sugai, Souda, and Kaito. "Maybe you should open the door a little slower? Anyways, what are you guys doing here?"

"What does it look like?" Souda spoke up, moving forward from the center of the group to stand next to Sato. "We're doing our own investigation!"

"Yeah!" Sugai yelled from the back of the group, his voice still too loud even with the distance, "Last time we all looked like idiots and that's not who we are, pal! We need to strive to really shine in this next trial! You'll all see we're the smartest around!"

"I just tagged along," Kaito said as he ran his slender fingers through his hair, his plush lips bouncing over his perfect teeth, "I thought they could use my beauty as inspiration."

"Well why did you come here? Why investigate this room?" Himura asked as he looked the group over. There was no way they had seen the note since Himura had crammed it into his pocket. So why else would they come here?

"We're just investigating every room!" Sato pushed her way further into the room, "That way we can be as thorough as possible!"

"That sounds like an awful waste of time." Himura remarked as he watched the group walk around inside of the lounge.

"If it's such a waste of time, why are you here?" Kaito quipped, looking at Himura from the corner of his majestic eyes. Himura almost felt target now, sure he had real reasons to be here but they didn't know that.

"I-I found clues that led me here!" Himura sounded a little more defensive than he anticipated, which only made him more flustered.

"Then it looks like we're on the right track!" Sugai laughed as he looked around the room. Himura watched as they all glanced over the carpet, not even noticing the change. But the motivational speaker seemed to let his eyes target the empty spot on the wall. "Hey! The sword's gone!"

"What a Bummer!" Sato groaned as she jogged over to Sugai's side, looking up at the empty spot. "That sword was just there yesterday!"

"You know that for sure?" Himura asked as glanced between the missing sword and Sato.

"Of course!" Sugai spoke up as he rubbed his jaw, "We were just messing with it yesterday!"

Himura could feel the shock in his body as he leaned in closer. "You were playing with a sword? Was it real? Anything important you remember?"

Sugai rubbed his jaw slowly in thought, as if thinking it over took a lot off effort. Sato, however, was on top of the question in a moment's notice.

" _ **It was really fucking heavy**_ ," She started with a nod of her head, "I could barely lift it up off the ground."

Sugai nodded as his face lit up as the memory came back to him. "Right! It was the three of us yesterday! Kaito and I could lift it to our shoulders but actually swinging it made Kaito stumble."

"That's what I get for trying to show off," Kaito said with a sigh, "grace before balance, as they say."

"Do you think that might be important?" Sato asked.

"Maybe, only time will tell, honestly." Himura said as he headed for the door. "Good luck with your investigation, maybe you'll find something we missed!"

"You bet we will!" Souda barked as Himura left the room. He had high amounts of doubt that they would find anything he missed but the idea was hopeful. Maybe he wouldn't have to carry the whole case himself. Himura could hear Souda say one last thing before the door clicked shut. "Why does this carpet have Monomi on it?"

In the hallway it was weirdly empty. Sadly he recalled the joyful few days that were abandoned in the misery of another murder. He couldn't help the longing need for those days to return, to go back to the peaceful times before the murder… Silently wishing he could make friends and not have the risk of death hanging over all of their heads. Couldn't he just have the chance to create relationships that wouldn't end in something...bloody?

Himura pulled himself out of his wishful thoughts as he heard rapid footsteps clap across the floor towards him. He'd already heard these steps once today. But just the clash of colors slowly heading towards him gave away the quickly approaching Kobayashi. With a sigh, he wondered what this kid's problem was now.

"H-Himura!" He gasped, out of breath as he raced towards the other student, Himura slowly started to pick up the urgency as the look on the other student's face really started to sink into Himura's brain. "I found something important! You really need to see this!"

"Lead the way!" Himura was already walking towards Koba when the lanky boy made a quick spin and ran back the way he had come from. Damn, running was one of the things the barista was horrible at. Groaning he quickly ran after the other student, barely able to keep up with the scientist.

When Koba bolted down the stairs, Himura thought he might die right there. Koba quickly lept down, stumbling over steps but still he kept going. His heart was racing as he quickly tried to follow his pace. Stumbling slightly and even more embarrassed to see Koba waiting for him at the bottom. Guess Himura just wasn't going fast enough. Though when Himura reached the last step Koba was already gone again. The barista started to wonder if Kobayashi had an off switch.

Following close behind, Himura started to let panic bubble in his chest as they headed towards the dormitory. Had someone else died? He found himself focusing on when they had discovered Hotta's body, how the girl had been tucked away in her own bathroom… did … did that happen again. Gasping for air, Himura felt relief when he saw Koba suddenly bolt away from the entrance to the dorms, suddenly stopping in front of the storage room.

"Wh-What i-is it?" Himura wheezed, glad the running had finally stopped. He hunched over, pressing the palms of his hands to his knees as he tried to regain his composure. He felt like his heart was going to pop as it tried to handle all of this running. "What is so important?"

"I found a sick clue," Koba said as he pulled the door open, "are you okay? You look really winded, yo."

Himura huffed and gave a nod. "I'm fine… Running and I aren't on a first name basis.'

Koba nodded, "Sorry ta make ya run like that but I needed to show you ASAP! I wanted to make sure you saw it before someone tried to cover their tracks!"

Kobayashi didn't wait for Himura to respond as he pushed the door open. Watching the mash up of colors slowly get swallowed by the darkness of the room, Himura pulled himself together. He quickly followed and was suddenly taken off guard by the smell of iron. He scrunched up his face as he looked around for the source.

"Smell it, don't ya? It's rank in here." Koba was already in the back of the room, messing with large, rolled up carpets near the back. Himura couldn't help but notice that Kobayashi had pulled his slick coat over his nose. Was he really that sensitive to the smell? "It gave me a huge poundin when I first came in here, so I looked around and then I found this!"

Koba pushed one of the rugs over on the ground and Himura jumped as it slammed against the ground. Sticking out of the top was the handle of the sword. Himura could see what looked like blood in the carpet around the knife.

"Have you opened it yet?" Himura asked as his wide eyes turned up towards Koba.

"Nah, I didn't want to do it by myself," he admitted, swallowing as he went to kick it open., "I didn't want everyone thinking I faked it. But they'll trust you."

Himura held his breath as he watched the carpet unravel with a hard kick from Kobayashi. It was a plush, soft looking rug with Monokuma's ugly mug on it. The same one that had been in the lounge every other day. But now the white pieces of the carpet were so blantly soaked in pink. The other half seemed to be covered in blood as well, it was just less visible on the black half of the carpet. In the center of the of the carpet was the long blade of the missing sword, blood covering the metal and glistening in the low light.

" _It's time for the Class Trial!"_ The voice seemed to bounce all around the room like a bullet. " _Everyone report to the room behind the red door on the first floor! Once everyone gathers we'll head down for the trial!"_

"Looks like it's time," Himura could feel the dread in his voice as another trial nipped at their heals, threatening to tear them down in the ground, "you ready?"

The determination on Koba's face almost caught Himura off guard, the clenched fists, the narrow eyes, he seemed more than ready. "Let's do this! Let's teach whoever hurt Iris a lesson!"

* * *

" _It's time for the Class Trial!"_ Hajime didn't even realize how long he'd been sitting on the bench until the announcement went off. " _Everyone report to the room behind the red door on the first floor! Once everyone gathers we'll head down for the trial!"_

The memory was still looping in his head like some kind of antique movie. The edges seemed burned as if not every detail could be recalled. But the main focus of the memory was there.. The dead student, he was there front and center.

"Hinata-Sensei, do you have a moment?" Kentaro walked up to Hajime, the student dressed in almost the same outfit he wore now, his hair was tugged into a thick bun as pieces seemed to messily tumble around his face. "I wanted to ask you a question."

Hajime watched as two students walked up to him, one student following behind Kentaro. The other student was so… plain… He was probably some kind of background character. The memory focused more on Kentaro anyways as the vegan gave his teacher a wave.

"What do you need, Kentaro?" Hajime asked, glancing around the room as if it may contain an answer.

"I wanted to ask for your help," Kentaro started as he glanced around the room, his eyes seeming nervous as he eventually looked back to his teacher, "you're good at making friends, or at least that's what I heard… can you help me? I don't know why everyone hates me…"

Hajime knew the answer, he could feel it click in his mind as he remembered trying to figure out a way to put it kindly. How not to absolutely discourage this poor kid in front of him. How the wrong placement of words could completely destroy this child… He remembered calling on Izuru for help. Letting his other personality channel the right words for him, to use the surplus of skills to gather the needed words. But he remembered making sure he said them… Izuru wouldn't have been gentle, even if he knew the right things to say.

"I've watched the way you interact with the other students, Kentaro. There's a simple fix for the problem you seem to have. You can't walk around with a sense of superiority to everyone. You have to let people see you're just like them… in at least some way." Hinata spoke softly, making eye contact with his student. "Also you have to stop telling people how to eat, I know you feel strongly about your lifestyle but you can't force other people to change."

Kentaro paused, looking like he wanted to argue before he gave a slow nod. "That makes a lot more sense… Maybe that's why everyone is always avoiding me."

"Don't worry," Hajime started as he went to pat the vegan's shoulder, "I know you're not nearly as conceited as you pretend to be. Just trust everyone around you, practice your talents together, if you all work in a group everyone will start to see who you really are."

"You're so right." Kentaro slowly started to smile, already beaming with confidence. "I knew I could rely on your help. You always know what to do."

"Not always," Hajime corrected, a smile creasing his lips as he went to look over at the other student. But the second he did, the memory melted away like it had caught fire. It seemed so fragile in this context, as if it could so easily be torn away from his own mind. He slowly came back to the greenhouse, seeing Komaeda walking towards him, he started to pull himself to his feet.

"Ready for the trial?" Nagito asked as the lucky student drew closer.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Hajime questioned as the two went to leave the greenhouse together. "You're the one who was actually investigating."

Nagito gave a weak laugh before shaking his head. "Don't worry, Hajime, I investigated enough for both of us. Besides, we have the new pinnacles of hope to rely on. Unlike me, they actually-"

"Stop that," Hajime interjected, looking over the thin man with careful eyes, "you need to stop talking about yourself like that. I bet you did plenty of investigating and found out extremely useful clues. Just like you did when we were in the same situation. I know your students will need your help, just like I did."

Komaeda opened his mouth to speak more but was cut off by the sound of Monokuma entering through the floor. The ursine devil standing at their feet and staring up at them.

"How come you two are always together?' Monokuma questioned as he placed his paws on his jaw, his face lighting up red to mimic a blush. "People are gonna start getting ideas if you keep spending all this time alone together! Anyways did you guys find anything good? Think you're ready for another thrilling trial? I remember when you geezers thought you could 'talk' students out of killing each other. Really looked like that worked out, huh? And-"

"Why are you talking so much," Nagito interrupted the annoying sound of the bear as he crossed his arms. "If you stand there and insult us it'll take longer for the trial to start."

Monokuma went silent for a moment… as if the robot had shut off. Hajime didn't think he ever heard Monokuma stay quiet for this long. It felt like forever before someone finally tried to get the conversation moving again.

"Hello? Did you turn off?" Nagito looked over the bear as an annoyed look washed over his face.

"Don't tell me what to do! I'm in charge here!" Monokuma growled as he slowly stepped out of the way. "Hurry up and get to the elevator, you're wasting my time with all this boring banter! If you don't hurry I'll have to punish you jerks!"

Hajime shut the door behind them, as if the presence of the glass door could cut that bear off from them forever. Hinata sighed, every time they talked to that bear he acquired a headache. Just the voice alone was enough to ruin his mental state. But as the two walked in silence, Hajime knew it was time to face it again. Another deadly class trial ahead of them. Another student had killed another. Their words meant nothing, they did nothing. They couldn't seem to prevent any kind of killings. For a moment it felt like a lost cause. He could feel the little bit of despair that formed in his chest at the idea that this would never end. That they couldn't save any of their students. But as he saw the red door and saw the students heading inside, he felt hope swallow the small tinge of despair whole. No matter what was about to happen, he had students to protect. And as he glanced at Nagito, he knew they both had even more to protect… something outside of this hellish school that they had to return to. Hajime refused to fall into despair… he had to get out of this for her.


	8. Apology Accepted?

**Author's Notes**

 **Truth Bullets:** document/d/1_5oPdVWa5DZwIOca2bHGuLVnGTuOOkltujzCyWmoOqA/edit?usp=sharing  
 **Report Card:** document/d/1iPRa3bjplbEk1FebuNRF5zWcG3j1m5T8LdSqLZ4PJiw/edit?usp=sharing

* * *

It seemed weird how long everyone was taking to get to the room. Himura had been one of the first to arrive, sitting tucked into the back corner of the room. He cautiously watched as Kobayashi paced back and forth through the elevator, the skateboard cupped close to his chest as his face scrunched up in thought. Looked like he hadn't figured out the killer yet, though Himura hadn't settled on a suspect yet either. The wait was making him anxious, weren't they supposed to head to the red room as soon as possible? The announcement had to be at least 5 minutes ago, so what was taking so long?

Himura glanced at the elevator door just as the walls seemed to shake, the wall behind him vibrating slightly behind his back. Hesitating a little bit, Himura pushed himself off the wall, glancing over at Koba as he saw the skater's just as confused face. The vibration went up the wall, maybe to one of the higher floors within the school. The two boys stared at the wall for a moment before hearing the exhausted breath behind them.

"What?" Monokuma questioned from behind the two, both of them slowly turning to look at the bear. "How did you both get here so quickly?"

"Isn't that what you wanted?" Himura looked down on the weird creature, an eyebrow upturned as he stared him down, "Don't you want us here as soon as possible?"

"Of course I do!" Monokuma snapped at them, letting sharp claws slip from his paws. "I just figured you would take longer! You idiots must have been really scared of what I would do you you! How pathetic!"

"Sorry we're late!" Sato yelled as she burst into the door, Souda, Sugai and Kaito trailing behind her as the group entered the room. "Souda-Sensei got his jumpsuit stuck on a door! We had to stop and help him get free!"

Souda huffed but Himura could already see the touch of pink still on his skin from past embarrassment. He let out a huff, crossing his arms but not objecting. For a teacher he seemed to be on his own level of fucking up. Almost as if the guy barely had a handle on his own life. Slowly more students seemed to work their way into the elevator room. None of them seemed to enter alone, Bellerose appeared with Luna and Makoto, Kusonoki came with Eguchi and Niijima, Sweeney had walked in with the powerful edgelord Tanaka. The last of the students to enter was the towering shape of Yunokawa and the small shape of the botanist.

Koba seemed to shift when the two entered the room, pausing and glancing at Himura before he ran over to the two. It almost seemed like he wanted to as Himura some kind of question. But with a long, drawn out look back towards Iris, Kobayashi ran over to the two, letting his face fill with a happy expression.

"You ready to fuck up whoeva decided to mess with you?" Koba let the skateboard slide back under his arm, letting it hang from his body rather than cradling it to his chest. "I promise you I'm gonna find the killer and teach them what they get for hurting you."

"Whatever monster did this to you," Yunokawa spoke in her deep, stoic voice as she looked down at the tiny Iris, "deserves to be punished."

Iris nodded as she hugged herself a bit. "I just don't want anymore of my friends to die."

"Well too bad that wish is way impossible since one of us will die at the end of this trial." Bellerose mumbled, her voice didn't carry any sympathy, just the idea of logic seemed to fill her words. Almost as if she was saying common knowledge.

Himura watched as Iris looked exhausted for a moment, as if all the people in the room were just too much to handle. The questioning that was sure to follow once they rode the elevator down to the trial grounds. She only held the look for a moment, swallowing the scared feeling down under another smile as she went to talk to Koba, but Himura could recognize it. The fear and guilt she was feeling was a sensation he'd experienced as well.

"What's taking Komaeda and Hinata so long?" Himura glanced over as Sweeney started to complain from Gundam's side. The tiny boy looked around, his piercing eyes combing through the group as if he was trying to cite some kind of answer. "And I thought Monokuma was just here? Where did that fucker go?"

Right after he spoke the room seemed to shake again, vibrating all throughout the walls. This time, Himura felt it as it went down the far wall again. This time it seemed to stop right behind the elevator door, letting out a loud, mechanical whirl as it halted behind the door. As a response, the entrance to the room opened up as Komaeda and Hinata stepped into the room. Everyone's eyes locked on the teachers as they finally entered the room but before anyone could say anything to them, Monokuma burst forward, waving his little arms around as he directed everyone to the elevator.

"You've all wasted enough time!" He growled, his hands motioning towards the elevator door as it slowly slid open. "Let's get this trial going! I'm getting bored!"

Himura felt a strong hand on his shoulder, pausing his steps towards the elevator door. The firm grip led up to Yunokawa as her eyes stared down at the barista. "I know I can rely on you to do what's best." Before she headed in the elevator with Iris, the two sticking close in the small space. It was a good feeling, knowing people believed in him. With a long, tired sigh, Himura climbed into the elevator with his classmates.

In silence everyone gathered onto the elevator. Himura stayed close to the back wall, avoiding the center of the group with caution. Everyone else seemed to stay close to the door and teachers, staying away from the back wall where Himura was now perched. His dark eyes rested on Kobayashi as the scientist stood front and center. Himura silently admired his ambition to solve this case. The determination seemed to come off him in waves and it looked like it was spreading to those around him as Sato, Sugai, and Kusonoki seemed to get extremely excited as well. They were all pumped and ready to tear this trial apart. But others that also drifted towards the edge, Iris, Niijima, even Sweeney, Himura could see the hesitation. They saw this trial for what it really was… a despair filled disaster.

The elevator came to a halt and everyone quickly disengaged. Himura popped his communicator into his ear. He could see everyone else do the same, all of their hands moving tos hove the little pieces of plastic into their ears. The teachers didn't seem to hesitate before they headed up the stairs to their assigned places. Himura couldn't help but wonder what it was like up there.

Looking over, Himura took in the trial arena, the room was… different than last time. The walls were a weirdly vivid, light blue that was scattered with random dots of other colors. They were an eyesore to look at and Himura tried not to dwell on the walls for too long. Though the walls were different, the trial stands seemed to stand the same, rising from the ground. Himura slowly walked with everyone else as he took his seat. His eyes trying to avoid the newly added portraits of Kagabu and Kentaro… The pink slashed across their faces made Himura wonder if it was blood or paint that was used to cross off their faces. Either way, Himura had a hard time making eye contact with them.

"So, who's ready for another exciting Class Trial? Today we're figuring out the murder of Tomonori Kentaro, the Ultimate Vegan." Monokuma's voice was like a siren, sending a feeling of alarm over everyone present, but they didn't have anywhere to hide. No safe room from the storm that brewed around them and threatened to swallow the students whole. They only had one choice… "You all just have to figure out who dunnit, simple, right? Now, let's not waste any more time, Kiddos. That would be so beary rude of us!"

The only choice they had… was to face the storm head on! But where to start? Where were they supposed to start the trial. Himura thought over a good place to start but so far there were a lot of holes still in the case that Himura didn't quite understand yet. Problems with the murder weapon, the location, hell, even with his fellow students. Too many problems left too many places to start.

"Why would someone do this!" Everyone seemed startled by the sudden shriek of Iris, the girl's hands clenched tightly to her chest as her large, panicked eyes scanned over her classmates. "None of us would ever do this! None of us _**have a reason**_ to kill one of our friends! This is ridiculous! We all know only Monokuma would do something as brutal as this!"

"Don't be stupid!" Sweeney grumbled, his hands crossed across his chest. "One of us must have done it! There's no other option here. Monokuma has told us several times that we'd only go to trial if one of _us_ kills a fellow student!"

"Don't call her stupid!" Kobayashi barked next, leaning over his stand like he might jump over the top and run over in Iris' defense. "Not everyone is as cold hearted as you, Sweeney!"

"Right, for a moment I forgot who the real idiot here is," Sweeney scoffed, "and I'm not being cold, I'm being realistic. We all know every one of us here has a reason to kill one of our friends."

"He's right, Koba." Himura started, watching as his friend quickly snapped his mouth shut, preventing him from speaking any further. "Everyone here, except me, _**was given a motive to kill.**_ "

Koba paused before nodding. "Yeah, I know I just… But that doesn't help us narrow it down at all! If everyone here has a reason to kill then we can't narrow this trial down at all!"

"Then it's time to move on to real evidence," Himura started, a sigh escaping his lips, "I propose we discuss the murder weapon. We fo-"

"Hold it right there!" Sato's voice tore through Himura's before he even got to finish his sentence. "I totally got this in the bag, I totally follow you Teach! We found the murder weapon all on our own! So it's Team Souda's time to shine! And with our information this trial will be over in just a few minutes!"

Niijima's eyes lit up for a moment, which proved to Himura the fact that Souda was definitely talking about this with all of his students. Silently he hoped they had found something actually useful. But Himura knew they couldn't have seen the sword… so what did they find?

"Get ready, pal!" Sugai spoke next, his loud voice spreading over the group as he explained. "The murder weapon was _**a shovel found near the body!**_ "

"It had a yellow handle on it and was obviously specially customized. _**The shovel was a special tool made just for Carol Iris**_!" Niijima spoke up next, her prosthetic arm popping out of her sleeve as she gently touched her cheek with it. "...or at least that's what Souda says…"

"The shovel had blood on the end!" Sato spoke as if she was wrapping the whole thing up, toothy grin flashing over the crowds as she put one of her hands on her massive hips. "No need to thank us either."

Iris whimpered from her spot, covering her mouth as she seemed to panic. "My shovel? N-No, I didn't do it!"

Sato huffed and leaned forward. "Ya callin me a liar?"

"N-No! You just have your information wrong! I would never kill one of my friends!"

"Just surrender now!" Sugai spoke next, clenching one of his large fists. "Save us the trouble and give up now!"

Himura hadn't seen the shovel… so it was really hard to debate this with them even if Himura knew they were wrong. Himura opened his mouth to talk before he heard the buzz of the com in his ear. Pausing to listen to the whisper of his teacher's voice before continuing on with the trial.

"Kazuichi always does this," he made it sound like more of an inconvenience, "jumps to conclusions without looking through all the evidence first. Looks like it's up to you guys to put him in his place. Ultimates like you two could easily trample over such baseless gestures. "

"I'm sorry to say this, Sato, but you're way off." Himura waited for the buzz to end before he went to speak, his eyes turning up to face Sato in a stare off. "A shovel would simply be impossible to use as the murder weapon. Do you know how much force it would take to lob someone's head off with a shovel? Wouldn't you say it would take more than one blow? With a shovel, you'd need to take a couple good chops at it, right?"

"Well duh!" Sato responded, placing her hand back onto her hip as she rolled her eyes. "Iris took the shovel and _**brutally jammed at Kentaro's neck until his head popped off**_! Then she used the shovel to dig a hole and bury his head in the dirt so she could pretend to find it in the morning!"

"There's so much wrong with that logic." Bellerose grunted as she crossed her arms. The words must have knocked Sato off guard because the girl immediately looked devastated. Her strong demeanor instantly melting.

"Wrong?" Sato whimpered, "How am I wrong?"

"Did you happen to look at the body, Sato?" Himura started of the rebuttal with something simple.

"No way!" Sato huffed before violently shaking her head. "Why would I want to look at a dead body? That's gross."

"Explains why you think the shovel could ever work as the weapon," Himura stared her down, watching as the confusion continues to leak onto her face. " _ **The wound was way to clean**_ to ever be caused by a shovel. If it was, the would would look more torn up and there'd be much more damage."

"Oh…" Sato said, glancing around like she didn't know what else to say. "But the shovel had blood on it?"

"Wait just a moment, Pal!" Sugai barked as one of his meaty fingers pointed at Himura. "We can't deny this possibility just yet! I believe it would be possible to do it in one go if enough force or weight was put behind the attack! I think it's a total possibility that the _**killer knocked Kentaro to the ground then put the shovel down on his throat**_. Then all they gotta do is put all their weight on it and BAM! The whole head falls off!"

"Do you really think that happened!" Iris covered her face with a slight whimper escaping her lips. "That's such a brutal way to kill someone!"

"Strong words coming from the killer!" Sugai yelled as he targeted Iris, Himura could already see as more fear spread over the girl's face.

"Don't worry, Iris," Himura started though his gaze was locked onto Sugai. "They don't know what they're talking about. Once again if you had seen the body you would know this is almost impossible."

"Oh yeah?" Niijima didn't sound against the idea… more like she just wanted to be apart of the conversation. "Why is that?"

"Well there's three reasons that wouldn't work out. One, in order for the killer to end Kentaro's life in the way you just suggested, they would have to knock him down onto his back. This means he would have seen it coming. However, his facial expression is frozen in surprise.. Not pain or fear. That just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Plus if he was pushed on the ground he'd have some other kind of wound, but the only mark on his entire body was where his head was detached."

"If the shovel isn't the murder weapon, what is?" Bellerose grumbled from her spot, glancing around the other students through slight eyes. "Do any of you fools have any clue what it might be."

"Kobayashi found the murder weapon," Himura started as he prepared to move onto the next subject, "he discovered a carpet in the storeroom that was all wrapped up but in the center was the sword from the lounge."

"And what does that have to do with the murder in the greenhouse?" Yunokawa crossed her thick arms over her chest as her piercing gaze carefully examined Himura.

"The inside of the rug was filled with blood!" Koba was a lot louder than he needed to be. "The sword was covered in blood! It was a lot of blood, yo! And Himura, it's just Koba, bro!"

"Wait why would stuff from the lounge have blood on it?" Luna covered her mouth in surprise as her thick brows raised over her eyes.

"How could the rug be covered in blood if the murder took place in the greenhouse?" Yunokawa questioned.

"Look at it this way," Himura informed as he ran a hand up to adjust his dark beanie on top of his head, "did anyone notice there wasn't a lot of blood at the location the body was found, isn't that strange?"

"That is really weird," Sweeney piped up from his spot as he moved to rub his hand against his jaw, "A neck wound would bleed profusely. There should be an alarming amount of blood at the scene… But there wasn't a lot of blood at the scene. Wait! Does that mean-?"

"You got it!" Koba crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back and grinning ear to ear. "The murder didn't take place in the greenhouse! It took place in the - drum roll please!- "

Koba hesitates for just a moment, looking around at his fellow students as if he was waiting for the sound effect to blast down for him. Everyone paused as Niijima messed with her arm, a sudden drum roll playing from the girl. The scientist's face lit up like a lamp when the sound was played, his grin way too playful for what was going on. " _ **The murder actually took place in the lounge!**_ "

"What!" Sato blurted from her seat, "There wasn't any blood in the lounge either! So how come you guys think that's the location for the murder! That Doesn't make any sense!"

"I have to agree with the rat," Bellerose reluctantly added, her ponytail swaying with her as she spoke, "if there's no blood in the lounge then why are you suspicious of it being the location of the murder."

Sato's eyes lit up for a moment before she leaned over her stand, running her hands through her hair as she got a sleazy grin on her face. "Are you finally starting to see how perfect we can really be?"

Bellerose became absolutely flabbergasted for a moment before looking back at Himura before clearing her throat, attempting to regain her composure. "I was only agreeing with you because you made a good point. Don't twist my intentions."

Sato winked back at Bellerose before Himura decided it was time to get back on target. "So remember the carpet we mentioned earlier?"

"I have yet to forget such a mental image," Kusonoki proclaimed, "a rug so deeply drenched in blood must cause great unrest for the dead. Such a brutal death will likely cause spirits to cling to our mortal plane."

"...right… And did anyone notice _**that the carpets mysteriously changed**_?" Himura tried to keep their brains working, help them figure it out on their own. Maybe if they came to the conclusion they would remember the information better. Might even help wrap this trial up a little faster.

"I do remember that," Kaito's voice floated forward on a breeze, "when we watched the movies, the carpet had Monokuma's face on it. But when we went to investigate with Souda-Sensei, it had some weird, pink rabbit on said her name was Monomi."

"The solution to that is simple!" Sweeney groaned as his anger suddenly was directed towards Monokuma. "You changed the carpet to fuck with us, didn't you?"

"Your words wound me, Beagan," Monokuma pressed a paw to his chest as his beady eye looked as if it might be watering, "I would never change a magnificent portrayal of my face for a disturbing picture of _Monomi_. That was one of you jerks!"

"Then I believe it's obvious what really happened to the carpet," Eguchi spoke up this time, gazing calmly over her class, "if this other carpet was covered in blood than the killer must have switched it out with another from the storeroom."

"But there's one problem!" Koba raised his voice over the others again, running his finger under his nose as he finished his statement. "Those spare rugs are really heavy, bro! A bunch of them fell on me yesterday! They ain't no child's toy! I almost couldn't get back up!"

"I wish you would just talk like a normal person!" Sweeney growled at the skater, his eyes narrowing as he stared him down. But his anger was broken by a sudden sigh, the tattoo artist letting one of his slender fingers touch the bridge of his glasses as he slowly pushed them back up onto his face. "But he's right, I was there when they all fell on him. Not just anyone can pick them up."

"And if you're trying to say that sword is the murder weapon as well, only someone with a lotta muscle can wield that thing! It's a big, heavy blade, pal." Sugai added, his thick arms moving under his jacket. "Someone would need more than just willpower to wield that one."

"With these details I dare say the discovery of the killer grows closer!" Kusonoki declared as she raised both of her hands above her head. "If we continue on like this I'm positive the killer will show themselves!"

"Wait just a minute," Yunokawa commanded as her firm voice ended their discussion, "don't get me wrong, this evidence you're bringing up makes a lot of sense to me but I have just one question. Why are you all so sure it happened in the rec room? If a carpet was used, couldn't the murder have taken place anywhere. "

"She's got a point…" Niijima turned to look at Himura. "If all the blood was soaked up by the carpet as long as they had a carpet they could avoid any evidence left at the scene, right?"

"Looks like now might be a good time to bring up that note of yours, Himura." Komaeda buzzed in his ear again, almost catching the barista off guard. The teacher wasn't this talkative last trial.

"What note, Himura?" Eguchi glanced over, staring her fellow classmate down with slight confusion. Right, the other students in his group could still hear Komaeda… He really wished she hadn't said it out loud like that because now everyone was staring at him. Eyes locked on him as if the trial had been turned against him.

"Are you hiding something from us?" Bellerose questioned, her gaze locking on Himura as if she'd locked onto a target. "That doesn't sound like a favorable act on your part, Himura."

"What? No! I'm not keeping secrets! I just haven't brought it up yet because I didn't think it was important. Only Komaeda and I know right now and he just said something about it. I'm not hiding anything." Himura rebutted, suddenly anxious the blame might be thrown his way. He could feel nerves bundle up tighter in his chest as Sato, Sugai, and Niijima's faces seemed to lite up with fear.

Himura pulled the notes out of the pocket of his apron, both were crumbled up at this point and Himura slowly worked to unfold them. "But there's two notes. One was addressed to me, which I got the night of the murder… The other is addressed to Kentaro and we found the note on his body."

Himura paused before passing the notes around, letting everyone take a nice, long look at them. Everyone seemed to scan them closely. It didn't take long for the note to fully circulate around the group. Everyone looking back up as the notes eventually returned to Himura.

"This seems to shed a new light on the case." Sweeney started, his fingers moving to glide through his hair.

"This is pretty suspicious, Himura!" Sugai growled, slamming one of his hand down on his stand. "These notes put you in the lounge at the time of the murder!"

"Wait what- No you've got it wrong!" Himura quickly tried to throw off the accusations, unsure of what to say to prove them wrong.

"Yeah! I can't believe you're the killer!" Luna gasped from her spot, eyes targeting Himura with fear. "I trusted you too! This is awful!"

"Guys please I-"

"Jerk!" Sato barked as she pointed on of her fingers at him. "I even gave you valuable life tips!"

"He could possibly contain the strength to do such a deed," Added Kusonoki, "he is a meatier boy."

"Enough!" The firm, commanding voice of Kaito rang out over the entire group, one of his elegant hands were raised into the air. His long eyelashes fluttered for a moment as he looked over the entire class. It made sense that he could gain the entire class's attention in a simple wave. Gaining attention from others seemed like something he was good at. "I can tell you all for a fact that Himura couldn't have murdered Kentaro. I didn't know about these...notes, but I do know one thing. At the time specified on these notes, me and Himura were spending some quality time in one of the classrooms."

"Wh-What!" Bellerose sounded startled as her fingers curled over her mouth. "But it's such a late hour. You two didn't spend the whole night together, did you?"

"Don't get so riled up, darling. It's not very becoming. We enjoyed each other's company for a few hours, dear." Himura felt his face turn red, but only because of the looks he was getting from everyone else in the room. At least everyone seemed to move on from thinking he was some kind of killer. "We played a nice, long game of Go and drew some nice little pictures on the chalkboard. It was a lot of fun."

"We don't have time for this!" Koba interrupted, cutting off another interjection from Bellerose. "Don't you see what's important here? One of us is a dirty killer! We need to figure that out first… ya dig?"

"And if we go back to our previous discussion, we have our list narrowed down to two suspects." Sweeney added as he gently adjusted his glasses.

"Two?" Iris questioned, slightly tilting her head. "Who would they be?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Sweeney shook his head before slamming his hands down onto the table. "The only two people strong enough to carry the carpet up the stairs would be Sugai or Yunokawa!"

An audible gasp was heard from the entire class. Himura could see Sugai sweating buckets all of a sudden. While Yunokawa looked as calm and collected as she always did. With a long sigh, Himura knew this had to be true. None of the other students had the thick, muscled bodies those two had. Without a doubt, they were the strongest.

"You think I'm a k-killer!" Sugai yelped as his large hands slammed onto the side of his broad face. Tears already starting to well in the corner of his red eyes. "I would n-never do such a thing! I couldn't! **I'M NOT THE KILLER!"**

"There must be some kind of mistake!" Iris piped up again, the shock and fear covering her face dripped into her voice slightly. "Th-There's no way either of them would do such a thing!"

"Yo, I'm sorry Iris… But it's gotta be one of them. No one else is that strong." Koba spoke in a manner that seemed too calm for the skater. His facial features softening as he tried to convince his friend of the situation.

"I'm strong! You can't judge by just size, Koba!" Iris bit back, though she looked desperate.

"Iris, please…" Koba went to go comfort her, a touch on the shoulder or something similar, but instead, Iris grabbed him by the shoulder and waist, lifting him above her head into the air. "Oh Shit!"

"See!" Iris huffed, holding up the lanky kid before tossing him back to his feet. "Size has nothing to do with strength! It had to be someone else!"

"Iris," Yunokawa spoke, her eyes focusing on the smaller girl with something gentle.

"Someone we don't know is strong!"

"You need to calm down." Himura could see what she wanted to say in her eyes…

"We need to see what everyone is capable of! That's the only way we ca-"

"Carol, I killed Kentaro." Yunokawa's words shut everyone up. Slowly everyone turned to look at Yunokawa. The toy maker let out another long, drawn out sigh. "I'm the blackened student."

"Wh-What?" Koba squeaked, brushing himself off as he was still trying to regain composure from being thrown down to the ground.

"...Why?" Iris whimpered, her eyes wide as she looked up at Yunokawa. "Why would you do this?"

"I-"

"None of that right now! It's time to vote!" Monokuma shouted over the group. "I'll give you some time afterwards for the sappy bits! For now! Vote."

Himura saw most of his friends quickly slam down their buttons. Most of them seemed sure of who the killer really was. The barista could feel himself hesitate, however. His hand didn't seem to want to push down.. To sentence Yunokawa to the death that was awaiting her around the corner. With a long, sharp sigh, Himura finally pushed the button down. There was no point in wasting anymore time. When he looked back up he watched as the screen lit up, showing the roulette of pixels, each one representing one of his fellow students. They all watched as it spun, eventually landing on the buff Yunokawa.

Everyone slowly stepped away from their stands. Himura felt dread wash over his entire body as he slowly turned to face Yunokawa. No one spoke at first, everyone had just stared at her. Even the obnoxious Sato remained quiet. Maybe it was finally sinking in, the thought that whoever committed this murder was their friend… Maybe they finally remembered what happens after someone is convicted of the murder.

"Why would you do this…?" Iris whimpered, rubbing her eyes as she slowly seemed to be melting down. Himura swallowed and looked up at Yunokawa, no longer able to keep his eyes on the botanist. "I thought you were my friend… you… you even tried to blame me for the murder… Was it fake? Did you… did-"

"That wasn't what I wanted to do, I never wanted to blame you and I never wanted you to be the one to find the body." Yunokawa took a long, deep breath as cracks began to show in her steady composure. The corner of her mouth twitched, her large hands shaked ever so slightly, and sweat rolled down her forehead in small beads. Then her eyes and locked on Himura. "And I wasn't trying to kill Kentaro…"

"Then who did you want to kill?" Himura asked it, but he felt like he didn't want to know. He could feel the regret stirring in his gut once he asked. But he couldn't stop the words from coming out.

"My original plan was to kill you, Himura." Yunokawa admitted, Himura felt his body grow light for a moment, as if he might float away. "I sent out those notes to get you both in the rec room. I was going to kill you first, then have Kentaro discover the body and pin the murder on him… When you didn't show up, I panicked… So I took the sword and… and I… I… "

Suddenly she was sobbing, tears streaming down the girl's face as she tried to continue on. "I killed Kentaro. Planning the murder was so easy, hiding the evidence, wrapping up that bloody carpet! But when we got here I realized I'd have to kill the rest of you if I wanted to leave too! I-I couldn't kill all of you! That was too much… too much to have to kill you all…"

"Killing one of us should have been too much!" Koba retorted, clenching one of his fists tight. "We're your friends!"

"I had to save my brother." Her voice lost all hope, and empty husk of determination that was hollow of all feelings. "My brother comes first… before any of you… None of you would understand! If I die, no one is left to take care of my little brother. He'll be all alone and I CAN'T let that happen. I didn't get us through the aftermath of the Tragedy to have him die because of some STUPID GAME! I can't! Even if that means letting you all down. I can't let my brother die..."

"Maybe if we'd talked about it, we could have found another way. If we worked together, maybe it wouldn't have come to this. But… in the end..." Koba's voice was hard with just a few weak points floating through the air. Spots where it was easy to detect breaking points. Then it suddenly softened like he knew what kind of position she was in. "I understand."

"But I guess it doesn't matter now, I'm going to die… He'll be alone." Himura could almost see the shadows start to spread in her eyes like poison. Swirling in her eye as she spiraled further and further down.

"Yunokawa!" Everyone turned to see the teachers round the corner. Hajime was in the lead as he reached his sobbing student. He paused a moment, looking over all the other students before his eyes locked back onto the toy maker. "I want you to know your death won't be in vain. Your brother will be safe now and when we get out of here, I'll personally make sure he's safe."

"Thank you, teacher." Yunokawa could barely speak through the hics and gasps of her sobbing. "Please take good care of him."

"I promise, he's safe in our hands." Hajime promised. "Don't wo-"

"Well that's enough of that crap!" Monokuma shouted as he strolled into the center of the group. "It always amazes me how ready you are to forgive your friends for murder. No matter the reason it's still murder. Now, let's get going. Now, Everyone get ready! It's Punishment Time! Who's ready to see the execution of the Ultimate Toy Maker?"

 **Class Execution of Koi Yunokawa**

 **Child's Play**

 _Silence swallowed the entire courtroom as everyone slowly looked at the arena through the glass. It was dark at first, just as it had been the first time. No one spoke and a few people were holding their breath, afraid to fog up the glass that separated them from the death room ahead of them. Suddenly a light burst into the room, illuminating what looked like the inside of a supermarket._

 _A large figure stood in the center. Yunokawa looked around, obviously unsure of why she was free to move around. Her eyes slowly scanned the room, trying to find anything that might stand out as a threat. A figure in one of the dark corners darted from one hiding spot to another. Iris responded suddenly, banging on the glass to point it out to the blackened student. The alert allowed Yunokawa to turn just in time as the weird, teddy like toy lunged at her._

 _She punched it hard, sending it back as it smashed itself against the back wall. Staggering it before the creature pulled itself from the ground once more. The shadows seemed to slowly dip in closer, as if the light was slowly being nipped around the edges. But soon it became more obvious what was really happening as they all saw the other toys slowly slink across the ground towards their maker._

 _Yunokawa desperately fought back, kicking them away and trampling them but it seemed impossible to fight them for long. They hit the far walls before easily reanimating and slithering back towards the buff woman. Beady eyes staring her down as her own panic seemed to ensue. An endless flood of these things persisted, continuously crawling over each other as they all tried to sink their teeth into the beefy leg of the girl._

 _When the first one finally got the chance to unhinge it's jaw… that was a nightmare. Seems unwinding as the mouth suddenly was freed. Large, metal fangs glistened in the light before they quickly disappeared into the girl's flesh. She gasped out in pain tumbling over onto the ground. She didn't even have the chance to get back up before they washed over her in droves, covering every inch of her body and dipping their nasty fangs into her screaming body._

 _With the last of her effort, she tried to stand to her feet, but only made it to her knees in a desperate scramble. Her eyes were almost completely white spheres at this point. Discs filled with no real hope of survival. Only the lingering dot of desperation qwivered in the center about to vanish when… Suddenly her eyes dilated, pupils growing wide as hope seemed to suddenly wash over her. Tears filled her eyes as her lips moved. Just a fragile whisper, soft and gentle like the last summer breeze of the year._

" _...I'm sorry…"_

 _She reached out towards the air, as if trying to grasp onto something that wasn't there. Her thick fingers spread, reaching for something in the distance before they-_

 _ **Snap!**_

 _Her middle finger suddenly burst back against her hand, bone piercing through the skin as pink poured onto the floor._

 _ **Crack! Pop! Snap!**_

 _More fingers broke as the toy maker collapsed to the ground, screaming in pain. The sound was exhausted, weak, and desperate. A final cry before it all came to an end. The last of the creatures lunged, slowly tearing to the flesh before the lights finally switched off, finally hiding the bloody mess in the center of the room._

* * *

No one spoke. Just silence as they all tried to absorb the brutal scene that had just unfolded. Fear filled the air like a thick fog, swallowing the entire group as Iris slowly turned from the glass. She could hear her fellow students talking. The hum of their voices buzzed around her ears, but they didn't seem to stick. They just hovered through the air. When she finally pulled her head up, she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder.

Kobayashi placed his hand on her shoulder. He asked her if she was okay… But she wasn't… No nothing was okay. Not now and not ever. She felt herself smile and nod. The world was a daze though, the images of bloody friends still burned into the back of her eyes like an old cigarette. Before she knew it… everyone was already heading towards the stairs. Quickly she followed, only to notice a small, white square fall from Kobayashi's pocket. Swallowing hard, she scooped it into her hands as she looked it over. Eyes scanning the colored side, taking in the picture with thoughtful procedure.

She suddenly heard her name being called. Without another moment to spare, she shoved it into her pocket. Moving to chase her friends back to the elevator. "I'm coming!" She called, hoping to calm whatever soul had called her name.


	9. Floor Exploration Continues!

**Students Left**

* * *

 _12_

* * *

It was well past school hours as Himura messed with one of the vending machines. Sure he could go home, get caffeine from a fresh cup of coffee from one of his many machines instead of getting the canned stuff, but he really just wanted to hang around a little longer. The can fell with a soft thud as Himura bent down slowly, feeling around until his fingers wrapped around the can. Staying crouched in front of the machine, Himura slowly worked the bottle open with his finger.

"What are you still doing here, Himura?"

The voice caught him off guard and caused Himura to almost drop his newly opened can on the floor. Luckily his reflexes kicked in as he regained stability. It was a strange feeling, being able to recognize a voice he didn't recall in present times. But the name that came with the voice stuck, _Mikan Tsumiki._

"Oh, am I not aloud to stay later?" Himura asked, looking up at the teacher, worried he'd just gotten himself in trouble. "I can leave right away if it's a problem."

"Oh no! You misunderstand me! I must have not been clear with my words! Please forgive me." Mikan quickly shot back, for a moment he'd forgotten how sensitive the teacher was. "You can stay as long as you want! But… if you don't mind me asking, wouldn't you rather go home?"

"Nah," Himura said as he stood to his feet, sipping his coffee before finishing his sentence, "home is just… boring… if you know what I mean."

Mikan paused for a moment, watching Himura, almost as if she was examining him for a moment, before she nodded. She seemed to catch on some unspoken conversation. "Well if you're going to stay here awhile, why not come to the teacher's room. A few of us are working late… you won't have to sit in the hall by yourself."

Himura glanced at his backpack that rested on one of the hallway benches. He'd kinda hoped it wasn't so obvious he'd just been… sitting here in the dark. It made him look like some kind of weirdo. "Well… I don't know, I don't want to impose."

"There's a coffee machine." Mikan added, a smile growing on her face.

Himura paused before taking another drink of his canned coffee. "Well if you say it like that I have to go."

After a pleased look from Mikan, Himura quietly grabbed his bag and followed the teacher to the room. As a student, Himura had never really been inside. But he'd heard from Kaito that the room was really nice. He'd heard a lot from the actor, that most of the teachers were extremely spoiled by Headmaster Naegi.

Entering the room, Himura was engulfed by a warm and a pleasant feeling. Most of the desks lacked teachers using them at the moment. Though almost every single one of them was littered with papers, books, and personal items. Himura's dark eyes scanned the room as he tried to figure out who all was here. He didn't feel surprised at all when his eyes focused on the two teachers sitting near the back. Asahina and Komaeda were sitting near each other, Komaeda leaning over the segments between their desks to talk over to Asahina. When the two entered the room, Asahina stood to her feet at alarming speeds.

"Tsumiki, you're back! I couldn't stand being alone with him for another minute." She burst out, Komaeda chuckling as he plopped back into his own seat.

"If you had told me to shut up I would have." Komaeda remarked, though the teacher didn't really sound to upset.

"I can't just tell you to shut up!" Asahina crossed her arms as she responded. "That would be too rude. Why is there a student with you?"

Looked like Asahina's attention had already bolted to something else as she was already eyeing Himura. "Shouldn't you be at home?"

Himura chuckled, rubbing his neck before moving to pull up a seat near Komaeda. "I could say the same to you. Hope I'm not stepping out of line by asking why you're all still here. Can't you do teacher stuff at home?"

"I'm waiting for Hajime." Komaeda spoke first, reaching over his desk and slowly digging through some of his papers. Himura used the movement to let his eyes follow over his teacher's desk. The man's desk had a framed picture but he couldn't make out every detail, just that it definitely had the two teachers posing together. The walls of his divider were covered in.. crayon drawings. Surprisingly nice crayon drawings. Weren't high schoolers a little old to give their teachers crayon drawings? "There's no point in walking home alone."

"Same here!" Asahina cheerfully added as she picked up a few papers. "It really sucks waiting for people to go home."

"Eh," Himura shrugged, sipping his coffee as he leaned back in his chair. "Waiting for someone to go home with sounds… Kind of nice."

"Agreed," Tsumiki added with a slight smile, "It sounds a lot nicer than walking home alone."

"You two need to find someone to walk you home, then!" Asahina smiled as she started gathering up her books. "Maybe another student walks the same way?"

"Oh, I couldn't ask anyone to do that," Himura rubbed his hands together as he shifted in his seat, glancing around the room with nervous eyes, "my house is way out of everyone's way."

"That's too bad!" Asahina started before turning to Mikan. "What about you?"

"Is there a reason you don't want to go home?" Komaeda asked quietly as the other teachers discussed Mikan's route home. "Something we should concern ourselves with?"

"What? Oh no, it's nothing you guys need to get involved with. It's just -," Himura started as he dug around for the right words, "-lonely at home? If that makes any sense."

"Huh, I completely understand. And just so you know, if you need anyone to talk to, I'm always here. I don't have a lot to do here and I usually spend most of my time being a rotting waste of space. So if I could assist a talent student such as yourself maybe I can actually accomplish something useful while I'm here. "

Himura paused for a moment, picking up on the self degrading undertones that always seemed to reside in the teacher's sentences. With a shrug, Himura drank the last bit of his canned coffee. "Yeah, sure, I'll think about it."

"Plus, we've all been pushing for a dormitory for the students to live in. Since most of you are parentless... " Komaeda added as if the thought had just hit him, "We just have to convince Naegi and we should have you all a safe place to live by next year!"

"So why are you here so late, Tsumiki?" Finally dropping back into the other teacher's conversation, Himura turned his chair to look over.

"Oh, K-" The K broke off, drowning itself out into an elongated version of the sound. Words blended together like a scratched disk, as if his brain was trying really hard to bring up the rest of the scene but no matter how hard it tried, the information was lost. Slowly Himura felt himself return to the present. The memory made his head throb. Himura slowly worked at peeling his eyes open, the task feeling almost impossible.

Himura had a harder time getting out of bed this morning then normal. His body felt heavier than normal, as if he'd sunk to the bottom of the ocean and the pressure was really starting to take its toll on his entire body. Maybe he just needed more coffee? It was the only answer he could think of. His hands were shaking slightly as he worked out one of his coffee mugs, only for it to slip out of his hands, falling to the floor and breaking into pieces.

 _Dammit!_ Himura tired to regain composure but thoughts barreled into his head with nothing to stop them. He'd almost died… and he had no idea. His friend had planned on ending his life… that idea flooded through his head. He wondered why, why would anyone do this to him? _Maybe I should be dead,_ Himura couldn't stop the thought from crawling it's way into his mind, _maybe that's what the universe is trying to tell me… that it's about time I sacrifice myself fo-_

 **Thump! Thump! THUMP!** Whoever was at the door was really impatient. The sounds of their fist hitting the door demanding Himura's immediate attention. Himura groaned, rubbing his eyes as he slowly made his way to the door. The second he unlocked it, the door was slammed open, slamming the door into Himura's face and knocking him back into the wall.

"Woah there! You shouldn't stand so close to the door!" Sato barked as she walked through the door, her arms crossed under her chest as she looked around. "Hope we didn't wake ya up!"

Himura rubbed his face as he tried to get over the now increased amount of pain in his head. Groaning as he slowly pushed himself off the wall.

"You're not bleeding, are you?" Eguchi worked her way around the racer. Entering the room with her long, black hair pulled over her shoulder. "I shouldn't have let Sato be in charge of the door."

"Yeah, she's really not good with them." Himura remarked as he slowly dropped his hands to his side. "Why are you guys here?"

"Well you didn't come to breakfast this morning," Sato started as she moved to rub the back of her neck, "we just wanted to make sure you were okay, ya know? Plus we were waiting for you to explore the next floor. You were taking so long we decided to come get you ourselves!"

Himura nodded as he rubbed his palm against his head. Everything still seemed fuzzy to him, as if he really couldn't absorb everything that was going on as it was happening. Like every interaction had a 2 second delay.

"Himura, are you okay?" Eguchi asked, moving to place a hand on her friend's shoulder, "you don't look too good."

Himura paused before shaking his head. "I'm fine. I just didn't sleep very well."

Eguchi's eyes seemed to go over the details of Himura, scanning him for something. Then, without any shift in her facial expressions she waved Sato out. "Do you mind waiting outside for a moment, Sato?"

"I'll do anything you tell me to do!" Sato paused before getting a giant grin. She gave a quick salute before heading outside of the room and shutting herself out.

Eguchi looked back to Himura once Sato was gone. She looked him before walking over to the table nearby and pulling out a chair. Then she seemed to take in the broken coffee mug, picking up the broken shards and tossing them into the trash.

"Wh...What are you doing?" Himura asked, her actions taking a long moment to finally sink in.

"You should come sit down," Eguchi ordered, pointing down to the chair. "You don't look like you're doing to well. So how about you relax a moment, take a deep breath, and tell me what I can do to help."

Himura didn't fight, sitting down in the chair and taking a deep breath. He was too tired to argue, too exhausted to try and wonder why she might be helping him. "Could you… make me a cup of coffee."

There was a slight giggle that hit the air, Himura was surprised as he looked up to see Eguchi watching him, her fingers covering her mouth as her sharp teeth shone from between her fingers. "You want me to make you coffee? I can't promise it'll be very good."

Himura paused before shifting in his chair, chuckling a bit. "It's not that hard, honestly. You just have to use the machine over there. Put the ground beans in the top and hit the button."

Eguchi shook her head slightly as she went to work with the machine. Looking over the machine carefully like she'd never seen one up close before. "Honestly I've never used one of these before but I'll do my best."

"Thanks, Eguchi." Himura said softly, leaning deeper into the chair as he watched her mess with it. "Have you… never used a coffee machine before?"

"Nope," Eguchi gently messed with the machine more, looking a bit excited as the machine whirled on, "I've always been more of a tea person."

Himura chuckled and rubbed his eyes, slowly finding himself coming back to the real world. "I can tell. But that usually means you just haven't had the right cup of coffee yet."

"I doubt there's a right cup for me, Himura." She slowly poured the warm cup of coffee out from under the machine as she tried to balance it so she wouldn't spill it. She attentively handed it to him before taking a step back. Going to dig through her bag as Himura took a long drink from the cup.

"I doubt that, you'd be surprised how many different flavors and blends of coffee there is. I'm sure I could find something you like." The warmth washed over him in a wave. It was comforting as he took a lengthy gulp from the cup. Drinking from it as if he hadn't had liquids in ages. Taking a long sigh, Himura felt a little better, as if he was slowly pulling himself together. He went to stand up before Eguchi put a hand on his shoulder, keeping him grounded in the chair.

"I bet you can. But I'm not going to let you leave your room like this." Eguchi said as she started pulling brushes out of her bag. "Everyone is already panicking. The last thing they need right now is to see you like this."

"Do I really look that bad?" Himura asked, though he wouldn't be too surprised, he couldn't recall the last time he had a full night of sleep.

"You look like death," Eguchi started as she grabbed a sponge out from one of the makeup containers and went to press the sponge under his eye, "but don't worry, I can fix it."

"Hehehe, I bet you can." The sponge was wet against the bottom of his eye and he could feel the cold foundation being spread over the bags under his eyes. That's when a haunting thought dawned down on him. "You're not going to give me vampire teeth, are you?"

Eguchi cracked out a laugh for a moment as a smile creased her lips. It changed her usually blank demeanor to something much more playful. "Vampire teeth doesn't really seem like your thing. You're too round for that. Oh! But would you let me have a little creative freedom here, pleeeeeeeeease? I promise you won't regret it."

"Alright, alright I trust you. Go to town, Eguchi." Himura watched her carefully, absorbing how happy his peer was as she continued to cover up the dark circles under his eyes. Her eyes lit up as she tugged out more makeup from her bag. Himura tried hard to ignore the foreboding feeling he felt in his gut. Hopefully he wouldn't come to regret this. "You're really excited about this."

"Well I love doing other people's make up, I love changing the way people look, altering them while still keeping what makes them, them, present. But not a lot of people let me do it… It sucks." Eguchi gently took a pencil from her bag and brought it up to Himura's eye. "Don't blink."

"Why won't people let you do their makeup?" Himura tried to keep the conversation rolling. The desire to snap his eye closed was really hard to resist as she dragged the makeup across the bottom of his eyelid.

"In recent years, people prefer CGI to prosthetics and makeup. They feel like it just doesn't do the job anymore. It's really sad, honestly. Don't get me wrong, CGI is taking movies to a whole new level and I absolutely love it. But mixed with my monster magic and amazing programing we could create the most amazing movie anyone had ever seen!" Eguchi moved on to some weird brush as she started working on the top half of Himura's eyes. "Plus some people think makeup is some tool that hides what people really looks like. But actually it's just a tool to highlight and enhance. People just don't understand the art of it all. Plus… I'm kind of nervous to ask everyone if I can do their makeup… I've been told no a lot…"

"I think I get what you're trying to say." Himura stated, watching as she finally started packing up her tools. He'd always had that feeling that he had to be told what to do when dealing with other people. They had to say they wanted something before he could give it to them. "How about as a way to say thanks for doing my face all nice, you let me make you a nice cup of coffee."

Eguchi chuckled and took a step back as she tossed her bag back over her shoulder. "Fine Himura, but only because you seem a lot happier thinking about coffee."

"Well coffee is the only thing that doesn't judge me in this world. I can just mindlessly work on it without a fear or hesitation… It's relaxing." Himura walked over to the coffee machine, he already knew what to make, getting to work in silence. Behind him, he barely heard as Eguchi sat down on the foot of his bed.

Himura went away for a moment, his brain letting the rest of the world drain out around him. His body seemed to feel less heavy as he went to work. For some reason these were the times where he felt the most alive. His hands were still shaky but they didn't stop him from getting to work. Starting the machine up as it started to buzz to life, spreading the aroma of rich flavor across the room. His fingers danced through his supplies, skipping over the containers until he reached exactly what he needed. He worked on the needed creams for the top, shaking it all up in almost a trance like state. Sometimes he wondered if he felt so good when he worked because he felt like he was watching some kind of film, free of making the mistakes himself, the choices were already made and the world was laid out before him. Everything always fit together without him having to make a second thought about it.

The coffee moved into the cup, swirling around in a lighter spread than he would have ever made for himself. He quickly worked in the cream, making sure it was thick enough for him to shape on top of the cup. He had to work fast though, otherwise the warm liquid underneath would melt the art on top before he even had the chance to pass it on. But this was all second nature to him, so even with the handicap of shaking hands he was able to create a roaring monster, rising from the cup with it's mouth agape. Himura slid a stretch of candy into the mouth, twisting out of the beast's gob like a wicked tongue. Finally Himura dashed the top of the cup with crumbles of dark chocolate. The barista looked down on it with a broad sense of joy. He carefully scooped it up in his hands. The world seemed to slowly piece itself together around him as he turned to face Eguchi, who was waiting quietly on the edge of his bed. Slowly he came back to his body, feeling as if he had lead in his limbs once again, but still felt a lot better than when he had first awaken.

Himura walked it over, feeling as if he didn't have anything to audibly add as he handed it over to her. He could see the approval he needed in her eyes. How they lite up with joy as she reached over and scooped the cup from his hands, cradling it happily as she examined all the details. The wide grin on her usually stiff face, exposing those strange teeth of hers, it was something he lived for. Watching the joy people felt when they got a nice, long drink of something he made specially for them.

"This is so beautiful I almost don't even want to drink it!" Eguchi exclaimed, taking one last look before taking a long, drawn out drink. "And it's delicious! It doesn't taste like any coffee I've ever had in my entire life! You really are the most talented barista in the world."

Himura chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, like I told you. There's a kind of coffee out there for everyone. You just have to know where to look for it."

Eguchi giggled before taking another drink. "I'll believe you, now, let's go explore that new floor, okay?"

Himura nodded, letting Eguchi lead him to his bedroom door. Himura paused before fulling exiting his room, seeing the back of chocolate covered coffee beans Hotta had given him on one of their first nights. The exchange seemed like it had been years ago… With a quick motion, Himura grabbed a small sandwich bag, dumping some of the beans inside the plastic baggie before tossing them into one of his apron pocket. Maybe they'd provide the pick-me-up he really needed today. With his coffee mug cupped in his hands, he headed out into the hall.

Once outside, Himura was almost startled to see Sato out there, still waiting by the door before them. She shoved herself away from the wall when she saw Eguchi. Guess she took waiting outside for the other girl seriously. The barista was more surprised when she made eye contact with him, looking a bit taken off guard before turning back to Eguchi and talking the other girl's ear off.

Himura followed the two back out to the main lobby where the rest of their classmates were waiting. It caught Himura off guard for a second… how some of their friends were gone. He could feel his mind trying to push it into the back of his thoughts as it tried to hide the pain that followed the losses they had already faced. For now, he let them be pushed to the back of his mind… like Eguchi said, he had to appear strong for everyone else here.

Eguchi had told him about the panicked state everyone was in but right now he could see it. Dark faces spread over almost everyone in the group. No one seemed to be their pumped up selves, everyone was falling behind, they looked exhausted. Even Iris had red rings around her eyes, looking as if she was ready to go back to her own Himura noticed Kaito was absent from the group… great, it looked like they'd lost one person to the depths of their room. The only one who looked okay in the group was Koba, the boy running back and forth, trying to draw some sense of hope from the gathered group.

Eguchi was right, if they had seen Himura in an even worse state… maybe they would have fallen apart. Was he really that important to them, though? He had always been a useless nobody any other time. With a deep breath, he walked up to the others in the group, only to have Koba stop mid-sentence and walk over to him.

"Yo! Bromie I'm so glad you've arrived! They're like zombies out here. I've been tryin' hard to lift the mood but… They don' take well to me." Kobayashi whirled, talking almost too fast for Himura to really comprehend.

"Okay, Koba, okay, I'll handle this. Don't worry." Himura wasn't too sure of his own capabilities but Koba seemed relieved to gain his cooperation. Taking a step forward, Himura cleared his throat, preparing himself to address his entire class. "So… are we ready to explore this new floor?"

"Who cares…" Sweeney spoke up from his place near the back of the group. "When we explore this next floor, we won't find anything new. We'll just find more places for us all to pretend we're best friends before one of us stabs the other in the back again."

"Hate to say it but he's right." Bellerose remarked, she looked more cynical than usual as she stared down Himura. "There's no point in cheering up, not when someone will just die again."

"You two need to stop talking! Everything that comes out of your mouths is always draggin' us all down! You never have anything positive reinforcin' to add." Koba barked, making Himura take a step to the side as the noodle like boy pointed one of his fingers towards the two, ending the glare at Sweeney.

"You shut your face, you fake fucker! Hell, I won't be surprised if you're the next one to die! I bet it's what everyone's hoping." Sweeney remarked, his face showing no signs of this being a joke as he glared back at Fumio, though Sweeney was definitely a lot more calm about this. The skater looked like he was about to explode as his face just got more and more red.

"You shut up you wannabe punk! How can you be that small and be filled with that much hate?"

"By that logic you're too tall to be that big of an idiot! You just don't know how to face the truth!"

"Yeah? Well you don't know how to be a debbie downer!"

"Wha- Are you serious? That's what you have to say? Kobayashi you're such an idiot I can't even believe you exist!"

"It's just Koba. K-O-B-A! KOBA! Get it right you-"

"Everyone, Silence!" Both Koba and Sweeney's heads whipped over at the explosive voice of Sugai breaking over them. The large speaker looked as if he had had enough of his peers bickering. "We need to get it together! What cannot accomplish anything pitting each other against each other like this!"

Himura watched as the fight between them was broken apart, Sugai's large body was put between them, soon entering the center of the group as he raised his hands above his head before dropping one of his large fists down from above his head, his sausage like fingers targeting Himura with a wink. "Our friend here speaks wise words. Words that I believe everyone should take to heart. Sure, the next floor might not provide a way out. But we cannot give up! If we do, Monokuma wins! We must have Hope! We have to believe in each other if we want to live! Otherwise what did our friends die for? Listen to me and listen closely. There's only one way we can get through this. What is the one thing that will keep us from sinking into the dark pits of despair?"

Himura watched as Sugai paused, the beefy man waited for someone to respond. Everyone was staring at him. He spoke up first, deciding to help bring the needed inspiration. "Friendship?"

"Hope!" Koba burst out, bouncing slightly as he clenched his fists tight, holding them as if he was about to fight. "What we need is Hope! It's the only thing that can pull us through!"

Sugai smiled, giving a big nod to signify they both were right. Then he turned back towards his classroom. He could see it in their body language and facial expressions. They weren't cured of the sadness that infected them at this moment, but they weren't sinking nearly as deeply as they were before. Even Himura could feel the spark in his chest from Sugai's speech.

"Now, who's ready to explore the Third Floor of Hope's Peak?" Sugai shouted, smiling as he got a roar of a response from 8 whole students. A large grin spread over his teeth as he looked over his fellow classmates. He'd done it, he inspired them. Himura smiled a bit as he watched them crowd around him. It felt good to see his classmates pulling through like this. It felt great to see them smile again.

"The supernatural energy in the area is much higher than I anticipated!" The booming laughter of Gundam alerted everyone of the teacher's entry. Himura turned to see Kaito leading all of the teachers down the stairs. Looked like it really was time to explore the next floor. Kaito waved over at Himura or maybe he was waving at the entire class. Either way, he lead the front over to the students. The teachers all seemed to carry their respective personalities at face value. Komaeda was close to Hajime, leaning over the other teachers shoulder to whisper something. Gundam looked… strange. Himura never really knew how to describe the teacher in any other way… And then their was Souda, the teacher looking as if he might collapse and die from fear at any moment… that was all normal… Then Makoto brought up the rear. The headmaster looked like his mind was somewhere else. He couldn't help but notice that the teacher's eyes were glued to Kaito… but why?

Speaking of Kaito, the actor had changed his clothes once again. Constant outfit changes must have been one of Kaito's things. That or he'd grown bored of the sweater from before. Now he wore black skinny jeans and a loose fitting shirt that showed off his strong collar bone. His long lashes batted over his blue eyes as he walked over to meet the rest of the group, his heels clicking on the ground as he strolled over to the other students.

"I feel like we missed the big pep talk." Komaeda remarked as he glanced over all the students, though Himura felt as if the comment was pinpointed on the extremely energetic Koba.

"Ha! Kazuichi could have used the stat boost provided by such a speech!" Gundam proclaimed.

"What? Shut up! I'm completely fine!" Souda wasted no time in freaking out, snapping at the remark as tears started to build in the corner of his eyes.

The teachers, except Makoto, laughed at Souda for a moment which only made the pink haired teacher more angry as more liquids dripped down his face. Souda then received a numerous amount of pats on the shoulders, mainly from his own students and a friendly one from Tanaka. Himura watched as Sugai said something inspirational to his teacher and suddenly he perked up once again. The barista couldn't help but wonder if the teacher ever got whiplash from how quickly his moods switch around.

Himura watched as the group bunched together, most of the students gathering around their respective teachers as the headed for the stairs. Looked like they were gonna be okay… at least for now, anyways. Himura went to follow before he felt a had grab onto his shoulder. Caught off guard, Himura quickly turned to make eye contact with Headmaster Naegi. The teachers round face was as hard as stone. Something was definitely on his mind.

Naegi released his arm for a moment, a nervous grin spreading over his face as he let go of Himura's arm. "Sorry, I hope I didn't startle you. We can keep walking, I just needed to get your attention."

The headmaster started walking first, starting the path to catch up with the rest of the group. Himura let out a slight chuckle as he reached up to make sure his hat was in the right place on his head. "Do you need something Naegi-Sensei?"

"Yeah… I need help testing something out…" Makoto said gently, almost as if he was suspicious that they'd be heard.

"I'm listening." Himura told, his eyes jumping between the group ahead of him and the headmaster. What could the teacher possibly need his help for? Couldn't he recruit one of the other teachers to help him instead of asking for the help of a student.

"I need to test the power of the masterminds surveillance." Makoto said, his eyes glancing over at one of the cameras before looking back towards the barista. "Unfortunately I can't do it alone… since they won't let teachers out into the school at night. So I needed to ask you guys to test it… I already asked Ryunosuke but… he said it sounded too dangerous. So that's why I'm asking you."

"Well what's the plan?" Himura was always up for helping but if it was too dangerous… Nah, it couldn't be any more dangerous than their current situation. They were already stuck in a school and being forced to murder each other. Nah, no matter what, he was probably going to help. Anything for his fellow students, right.

"What we're going to do is draw in Monokuma's attention. I'll handle that section, get him to come to the teacher's lounge. Then I need you to try and do something else in the school… Nothing to get you killed but something you're obviously not allowed to do. Then we see if he comes and stops you at the same time." Makoto continued. At this point they had reached the second floor of the school, the group heading over to the new third floor.

"Why would we do that?" Himura asked, trying to think of a reason why irritating the monochromic bear might be a good idea. "Shouldn't we avoid enraging him?"

"This is important. Back when my class and I were trapped here my friend Kirigiri came up with the same plan… It was really helpful in the end, it allowed Kirigiri to gather important information about the mastermind and her limitations." Makoto explained, looking proud for a moment before his facial expression slowly slid into something more somber expression. "I really wish Kyouko was here now… She'd know exactly what to do."

"Well… Why do you think this plan will be useful to us now?" Himura was still a little puzzled at the idea of the plan… and how it would benefit them.

"I want to see if this mastermind has had an extension in technology at their disposal. Before, she could only monitor the security cameras OR operate Monokuma. She couldn't do both at the same time. I want to see if it' the same case again with this." Naegi explained and at this point they had started to ascend the stairs to the third floor.

"When should we do this?" Himura asked as he watched his fellow students gather at the top of the steps.

"I'll let you know when we're ready… I have Souda working on a communicator so we can talk after the nighttime announcement. Once that's finished we can go through with the plan, okay?"

Himura reached the top of the steps, glancing at the teacher before giving a quick nod. "Alright, sounds good to me." Before Himura merged with the rest of the group. Already they were discussing how to spread out and investigate the area. The group had actually already started to dissipate by the time the barista had finally caught up. SIghing, he watched as his peers slowly started to spread out.

"I'm coming with you this time, Himura." The barista was startled by the voice of Sweeney as the small artist walked up to his side. He had a smug look about him as he walked to stand next to the Barista.

"Uh, that's fine, I guess." Himura let his eyes move upwards as another student strolled over to their small group.

Kusonoki look as dead as ever, her pale skin eerily glowing in the school's lights and her hair cascading over her like weird, supernatural tendrils. "I'm tagging along as well! Together we might be able to solve the true mystery that is locked up within these walls!" For someone who always looked so tired… Kusonoki was always so loud.

"Are we going as a class?" Iris walked over, holding her sunhat to her head. Gundam walked close behind her. Looked like he'd gained the entire team during this exploration. That was honestly find with him. The more the merry, he supposed. He turned to walk down the hall when one more person caught his eye.

"Himura, darling! Look at your face!" Kaito remarked, strolling over from one of the sides. He crouched down slightly to get a closer look at Himura's face. "You look absolutely gorgeous!"

"Huh?" Himura watched the actor and he could feel his face heat up. What did he mean he looked gorgeous. That wasn't a word people usually used to describe him.

"Don't play dumb, honey! You're makeup is absolutely gorgeous! Just enough eyeliner to highlight those radiant eyes of yours. And your lashes are looking lovely. You just look so-" It took him a moment to continue his sentence as he stared at Himura for a moment that felt like hours, "fabulous!"

"O-Oh… I forgot Eguchi did my makeup today… So I'll pass on that she did a really good job… okay?" Himura stuttered, unsure if the actor was complimenting the makeup job or his actual face. Though his eyes were apart of his actual face so it seemed more likely to be the former option.

"Oh please do darling. I'll have to make sure she to thank her myself. It's nice to see you look just so… spectacular!" Kaito rejoiced as he finally pulled away from his fellow student.

"Mind if we get back to exploring?" Sweeney interjected as he started walking towards one of the rooms. "I'm starting to feel queasy watching you two."

"Aw, I think it's cute." Iris said as she followed the artist towards the door.

"Yeah but you also think Kobayashi's company is bearable. No offense but your judgement isn't the best." Sweeney remarked as he opened the first door. Popping his tiny head inside to look around. "Come check this out." The artist didn't wait long for everyone else to come in, instead he headed straight into the room, leaving the rest of the group to tail him inside.

Once inside, they all got an eyeful of the room's interior. There were art easel all wound around a small stage. Statues surrounded the area, most likely used as artistic reference. The entire room smelled of paints, charcoals, and clays. The walls were a dull grey with bright colors splattered over them. Honestly it was hard to tell if the pattern was on purpose or from use of the room. The back room was filled with a mashup of supplies any art student would die to get their hands on. Even though there was an abundance of supplies scattered around, most of them looked new, as if they'd yet to be properly used. Exactly what one would expect to see in a class made for the most talented artists in the world.

"This place smells funny." Kusonoki remarked as she pushed her way through the door. Walking around as she covered her face with one of her hands.

"Have you never been inside of an art studio before?" Sweeney scoffed, rolling his eyes as he walked over to one of the easels, moving one of his small hands to glide over the wood of the stand. "Smells great in here. Like a place you can settle down and create art for hours . A place to really let creativity flow onto a page."

"Just smells like a dusty old room to me." Kaito remarked from across the room as he dragged one of his fingers over a wall. The actor looked disgusted as he pulled his finger away. "This place is just a stain waiting to happen."

"I could never expect someone as dense as you to understand." Sweeney snapped a bit before turning towards Iris. "I bet you get me though. It's like the greenhouse. Just a place where you can work freely. Just the air seems to bring you comfort."

Iris blinked for a moment, as if she hadn't expected someone to directly talk to her. After a moment se pressed her finger against her lip, thinking it through before giving a small nod and a large grin. "I think I get what you mean, Sweeney. Though I'd prefer the fresh air of a garden any day!"

"Come now, young mortals, there is still plenty of unholy expanse for us to comb for an essential clue for our deliverance from this hell!" Gundam was still near the entrance of the room as he looked over the students.

"Sure, Teach." Sweeney said as he headed back towards the door. "I can come back here later anyways."

"I'm excited to see what else lays in wait for us, Master Tanaka! Maybe some place will be filled with the crying voices of the dead!" Kusonoki spoken as if narrating some cheesy tv show. Her fingers spreading over her face as she gained a ghastly grin.

The group headed back into the hall. From this point there was two different ways to go, through the left path the way they had come from. Himura could see a door on the other side of the stairs up. Weird, guess they'd have to check out that side later. The rest of the group was already moving to the next room on the right. No point in turning back now.

Before the next big room, the students found about three more classrooms. Nothing inside any of them really stuck out to Himura. The first one was just a sketch of Monokuma laughing. The tops of a few heads resided around him. Himura imagined they were supposed to represent the students here. The next room… Himura didn't really look at that one. The drawing made his stomach churn… The third one though, that one was pretty cute and disturbing, all wrapped up into one simple package. There was monokuma on one half of the chalkboard and that pink bunny from the carpet on the other. Both of them were being cradled by different girls.

Sweeney went to make some remark, as he usually does, but suddenly snapped his mouth shut. The Barista was confused why since usually the artist didn't hold his tongue for anyone. Everyone's eyes were glued on Tanaka at this point as the teacher slowly strode from the door. There was something unrecognizable in his mismatched eyes as they seemed to bounce over the drawing as if trying to find some kind of answer. His steps seemed slow, as if each was heavy. When he finally reached the chalkboard, he looked over it more closely… something… something was wrong.

"Hey, Mr. Tanaka, are you okay?" Sweeney asked as he was the first to take a few steps towards the teacher. The artist's face had never looked so… concerned.

There was silence for a long, drawn out moment. The teacher's fingers rested on the board for a moment. Slowly they slid down over the black board. It was almost as if he didn't know what to do… like a million thoughts were running through his head all at once. Another moment seemed to pass before there was movement inside of his scarf. Small, furry creatures crawled out, one gently tapping on his cheek as if to try and get his attention. That's when he gasped, as if broken from some evil curse. His whole body whipped over quickly as his hand grabbed ahold of one of the boards erasers. Violently he started removing the side with Monokuma, something twisted behind his eyes before he let out his usual, loud laughter.

"Even in death she is weak! HAHAHA! Did she ever really believe she could beat the great Lord Tanaka and his Dark Devas? What a fool!" He spat, turning heel and heading for the door. "Let us depart my mortal servants."

"Yes Lord Tanaka!" Kusunoki spoke first, following the grunge lord out the door first. Sweeney didn't say anything, he just awkwardly turned around and followed his teacher out the door. Iris just looked worried for a moment, glancing at Himura and Kaito before following her teacher out the door. Kaito seemed to be waiting for Himura to depart, chuckling slightly as the two followed the teacher out.

"And I thought I was a drama queen." Remarked Kaito as the two left the room, shutting the door behind them as they met up with the rest of the group.

At this point, Gundam looked as if nothing had even happened inside of that room. A large grin spread over his thin lips as he almost seemed proud of himself. One of his hamsters had moved to the end of his sleeve, now trying to pat off some stray chalk dust that coated his jacket in patches.

"What happened back there, Mr. Tanaka?" Sweeney asked, looking up at his teacher with a raised brow. "You didn't look like you were okay… What was on that board back there?"

"Just an old enemy of ours. A foe that was destroyed and refused to accept the cold hands of death! But now her soul rots in hell, just where it belongs!" Gundam tossed his arms over his chest in his wild laughter.

"Do you thi-"

 _ **Thud! Screeeeeeeeeetch**_

Iris had been cut off mid sentence by the loud sound. The first of something being pushed over… the second of something being scratched across the chalkboard. The sound caused everyone to face the door of the classroom again. Dead silent as they all stared at it, most likely afraid to check it out.

"Stand back, children. I, the great and powerful Gundam Tanaka, shall investigate this disturbance!" Gundam strolled towards the door. He seemed pretty sure of his own power as he moved to reenter the room. One of his hamsters puffed out on his shoulder, the already large furball acting as if it wa getting ready for a fight. Though most of the others scattered back into his scarf, hiding inside of the fabric.

Himura stayed close to the wall near the door. He didn't really want to go back inside, but from his location, he could see inside around the teacher's shoulder. And what replaced the image on the chalkboard obviously upset Gundam even more than the previous image. The teacher slammed the door shut, only letting the picture sink in for a moment. He took a few steps back, watching the door as if e expected it to melt off it's hinges and let the evil locked away inside the room out to devour the teacher and students. His already pale face seemed to become so much closer to pure white.

But before Gundam shut the door… Himura saw it, the new image that had been scrawled across the board. The girl who'd been holding Monomi had been redrawn across the entire board, but now she was flipped over and face down. Tons of bowls pierced through her body, almost as if those were keeping her suspended. Pink chalk covered the entire image as the whole thing was a gorey, pink mess. Whoever that girl was… it must have been a touchy subject for Tanaka.

"Let's move on." Sweeney suddenly broke in, grabbing his teacher by the sleeve to slowly start pulling him away from the room. "I think this next room will be really cool."

Gundam didn't budge at first… He just looked lost for a moment. Himura wondered who'd been in the picture… and why it was so devastating to the teacher. After another hand reached out, gently tugged at his rolled up sleeve as Iris helped Sweeney's cause.

The sudden attention from his students seemed to awake the teacher from the sudden curse. His legs started to move and soon the look melted away from his face. He let out a brash laugh before gently pulling his limbs away from the students, only to use them to make some over dramatic pose. "No mortal can touch the flesh of Gundam Tanaka and live! Be careful, children, or else you shall perish much sooner than I'd like."

Everything slowly seemed to be returning to normal, with a sigh, Himura was glad the teacher seemed unharmed. Whoever did that, they could draw really fast. Hell, Himura couldn't help think about it. Even though the barista had only seen it for a few moments… something seemed painfully different about the two images. The first one had been cute with softer edges to all of the characters. Then there was the second one. The imagery was hard, both line wise and material wise. Maybe Himura was just overthinking it all but… something felt wrong with the entire situation.

The next room the group checked out was about the size of a classroom, but instead of desks the room was filled with high tech computers. Unfortunately once turned on the only thing they seemed capable of doing is playing a game of tetris on. It was disappointing to say the least. Though Himura hadn't really had his hopes up for it in the first place. He'd doubted that Monokuma would have provided anything as useful as a working computer, though. That was way too much to hope about in the long run.

Their inspection of the computer lab ended pretty quickly as the group didn't really find anything of value inside. Himura guessed their investigation stayed short due to the upsetting tease that was all the computers. In the long run, this room was completely useless.

As they continued down the hallway, Himura paused a moment to look at the wall. He remembered this spot. Though the vending machine was gone, he knew this was the same spot it had been in the memory he had reclaimed this morning. The hall had been darker, lights off with only the machine giving off a dulled light but even with that gone, something called out in the back of his mind. This was the same place as from his memory. Weird, having the memories actually link up with the school. Looking forward, Himura's eyes locked onto the next door the group was going to inspect. It had to be the Teachers' Room. When the group got a little bit closer, this idea was solidified by the small sign near the door, reading off those exact words, confirming Himura's memory.

"A teachers' room? Do you think that could be useful?" Sweeney asked, his eyes turning to look over Gundam.

The teacher laughed smirking as he took a step forward. "It could contain many secrets of the years stolen from us all. Let us explore!"

The students stepped back, letting the teacher be the first to step into the room. Slowly the entire class made their way inside, looking around inside.

Once Himura was inside he took a moment to take it all in. It was like walking through the memory. He could almost hear Mikan and Asahina talking to him from the memory. He followed the same steps he had in the memory. At the moment the other students seemed to blend into the past, disappearing from his world as he walked over to his teachers desk.

From the fresh memory, Himura could already tell the desk was different. But even though some things had changed, it was obviously Komaeda's desk. A pile of papers were strewn all over the desk, the teacher's name scrawled onto some of the corners. The crayon drawings that were tapped to the walls of the area were still there… but they seemed upgraded, almost as if they'd been drawn by someone with quickly improving skills. The art style was round and pretty cute. He didn't recognize the subjects of the drawings at first, they all looked like concept art for heros for a video game.

Himura was confused why Komaeda would have these hung up all over his space when he slowly started to recognize some of the characters in the drawings. One was Gundam and another one was Souda… the two looked like some unbelievable warriors, Souda had legs covered with metal and large mechanical weapons covering both of his arms. The teacher looked a lot cooler in this drawing than in person. Then there was Gundam, the man looked just as extra as he did now as he jumped through the air, his scarf blowing behind him in some epic pose. A large, beast like creature seemed to be following him… maybe he was supposed to commanding it? Hell, looking around more, he even found one of Mikan holding a giant needle…

Then Himura noticed the one of Hinata, the teacher was dressed armor, almost like a knight. He seemed to be walking towards… He'd found one of Komaeda. The teacher was drawn as some… prince charming? A small crown rested upon his curly white hair as the prince looked worried. Any thoughts of Komaeda drawing these himself completely vanished. The teacher hated himself too much to draw himself as some loved prince.

Himura pulled away, seeing no point in continuing to look over the pictures. At this point they were just making him more confused. He moved his hand away from the desk, only to realize the entire thing was covered in a layer of dust. Gross… he couldn't believe he hadn't seen it until now. That's when Himura saw it… a weird spot with no dust at all, in the shape of a small rectangle. Why-

"Mr. Tanaka! Is this your desk?" Iris giggled suddenly, tugging Himura's attention away from Komaeda's desk over to the small botanist. The girl looked happy as she hovered over one of the desks, giggling as she looked it over. The teacher slowly strode over, soon letting out another loud laugh.

"Ah, yes! This is an image captured of my dark army!" Gundam remarked. Himura felt intrigued as he slowly walked around the desks to try and get a glimpse of the image. "The captor was lucky we didn't devour her very soul!"

Himura had to hold in a laugh at the picture. It was this dark lord teacher in a pile of puppies and hamsters. The picture was far from intimidating. Right before Gundam set the picture back down on the desk, Himura caught a glimpse of Souda in the cower of the image, the teacher ducking down as some of the puppies viciously chewed on him.

"It doesn't look like there's anything else here," Sweeney started, moving from his teacher's desk to look up at him, "should we move on?"

Gundam gave a large nod as he moved towards the door. "You were thinking the same thing as I, Minion! Let us move on!"

Himura watched as everyone left the room, though Sweeney seemed to lag behind everyone. Weird that the person who suggested leaving would be the last one out. Kaito met up at Himura's side, glancing over with a slight grin as he looked over the Barista. Himura turned red as the Actor leaned down to whisper to him. Not actually talking until they were both out of the room. "Himura, did you see that?"

"Wha- No, I didn't see anything." Himura went to glance back but stopped as he heard Sweeney close the door to the teacher's lounge. He felt something churn in his gut… Like he didn't want the student to see Himura looking at him.

"Sweeney took something off Tanaka's desk on the way out…" Kaito spoke in a hushed voice, his face flat for a moment. He didn't give Himura time to respond, suddenly he let a big grin spread over his face. "But what do you think we'll find in the next room, Sweetie?"

Sweeney walked past them as Kaito cooed, groaning in disgust as he hurried to catch up with the front of the group. Kaito stood up straight, a grin crossing his sweet lips as he acted like nothing had just happened. Himura let himself focus on Sweeney now. The tattoo artist stole something from a teacher's desk? But why would he do something like that. The action made him think back to Komaeda's desk and the strange hole in the dust… maybe someone had stolen something from his desk as well.

"Himura! There you are!" The group had reached the last door and two people stood outside, obviously waiting outside of the room. The group consisted of Eguchi, Niijima, and Kobayashi, the latter of the three calling his name. "You're gonna lose your mind when ya see what's in here."

"Oh yeah?" Himura asked, letting himself walk a little closer as he took a long, drawn out drink from his cup. He felt a little skeptical. Just more on the fact that Himura doubted Koba knew anything that would make Himura happy. Right now, he imagined there was some kind of skate rink inside or maybe some 90s gift shop. Koba seemed like the kind of person to think everyone liked the same thing as him. "We'll see about that."

"Oh trust me," Eguchi spoke up next, a thin smile sliding over her lips. "You're going to love it."

Now Himura was feeling a bit excited. Eguchi seemed like the kind of person who always knew what they were talking about. "Alright, Alright, I'll bite. What's inside."

Koba smirked before tugging the door open, tugging open the door to a dim room. Himura slowly walked inside, confused by his friends' excited grins. Once he was close though, the smell flooded over him and hugged him. The dark, rich aroma of coffee wrapped around him like a warm blanket. His muscles tingled as he walked into the room.

Guess Koba was right because this was really blowing his mind. The first segment of the room was like a small music parlor, there was a small stage against the far back wall. Tables elegantly placed to watch the performance or just enjoy their drink. But the counter to his right caused joy to pulsate through him. He glided his hand over the counter, the smooth marble gently sliding his fingers over it with a long sigh. Behind this counter there were numerous machines to work with, all top notch. Hell everything he saw here was a lot better than what he'd found and dragged to his room.

Excitement boiled in his chest before he hurried into the back room of the coffee shop. There were so many different kinds of coffee beans back here. He felt like he'd died and went to heaven at this very moment. He set his coffee cup down before scooping up a giant bag and bringing it back out and tossing it onto the counter. "Did you guys see all of this?"

Koba laughed and smirked. "We knew you'd love it, bro! We were waiting outside to show you!"

"We figured it was just the thing you needed right now." Eguchi said with a smile.

"Yeah." Niijima added.

Himura hugged the bag of coffee beans, taking in the earth smell of it with a big grin. He felt like he could bounce with joy. He couldn't stop being excited, not even for a moment. "This Cafe, this is better than anything I've ever been in! I never want to leave this room!"

"Don't go dying of caffeine overdose now." Sweeney remarked as he walked inside. The rest of the group followed him in, examining the lounge area of the cafe.

"I'm making no promises." Himura joked as he already started messing with one of the coffee machines. He was so excited to start trying this thing out. His hands working carefully with the machines, the new metal brushing against his hand and sending chills down his spine. The barista got so involved in it he didn't even notice the door open. The only thing that got his attention was Luna's voice calling out to everyone.

"I finally found you guys! Is everyone done exploring?" She almost jumped over the counter, leaning in towards Himura. He took a step back, taking a big drink from his new, warm cup of coffee.

"Uh, I am. I don't want to explore anymore." Himura stated, taking another long drink before adding, "But I think there's a room we didn't check out."

Luna paused, looking around before smirking. "So, you did you see the pool?"

"Pool? No, we didn't get to any pool." Himura could care less. He'd never been a fan of swimming. He didn't like wearing any less than a hoodie, let alone running around in underwear in cold water.

Luna seemed to catch on to his uninterest in it all. Rolling her eyes, she leaned back to try and find someone else to bother. "Does everyone have a bathing suit?"

"I don't." Iris spoke up, glancing around before shrugging slightly. "This is my only outfit."

"What? Anyone else not have a bathing suit?" She looked almost scared by Iris' confession. Maybe she couldn't imagine someone having only one outfit.

"I don't have a bathing suit either." Kusonoki spoke up next, and soon, everyone else in the room admitted the same.

Luna looked surprised for a moment before an almost deviant grin crossed over her lips. "Looks like I'll be pulling an all nighter tonight. But we're having a beach party if I have to kill someone!" She was too serious for that last part. It honestly made shivers run down Himura's spine. It took a moment before she burst into laughter. "I'll be taking everyone's measurements so I can create everyone the perfect bathing suit! Then tomorrow, tomorrow we're having a grand old party!"

"Sounds dumb." Sweeney remarked.

Luna turned on him suddenly like some kind of demon. Her eyes growing wide as she tossed a pointed hand in his direction. "You shut your mouth you sourpuss! We're having a good time as friends! Now-" She whipped out a measuring tape from around her neck, it snapped in the air as she smirked deviantly.

"… Who's going first?"

* * *

Komaeda had finally gotten a moment away from the students and Hinata. He had to take a moment, leaning against the wall to try and catch his breath. He felt it, pain spiking through his chest as he leaned against the wall. Just from climbing the stairs up here he felt like his lungs were going to burst.

Gasping for air, Komaeda covered his face for a moment. He'd snuck into the bathroom on this floor. At this very moment he felt like he was going to pass out… but he didn't want anyone to see. The world was spinning for a moment, hard to comprehend as he leaned over the sink. This happened often… he just had to wait and it would all pass.

His hands were shaking, he tried not to let the motion alarm him but… it was hard. Trembling he worked the sink on, turning on the faucet to splash cold water onto his face. Before he turned around, he heard a sound, the usual whirl of Monokuma entering the room. Great, it seemed the bear had come to insult him as he was dying.

Komaeda turned around to face him, he was taken off guard. The room was still spinning and it was hard to comprehend what was really going on. He wondered if it was really that bad at this moment, that it was so bad he was starting to see delusions. But there it was, it's soft, pink, cotton hand reaching out to hand him something.

"What do you want?" He snapped, though the words felt like they were being dragged out of his throat by a string. "What is that?"

It only grunted, pressing it's hand up further towards Komaeda. He could see it, some small sort of medication placed in its palm. Carefully he scooped it up, silently hoping he'd just passed out on the floor somewhere.

"You want me to take this?" He asked, his head still spinning as he watched the bunny nod. Rolling his eyes, he tossed it in his mouth, swallowing it down before looking at it. "Happy?"

The bunny looked relieved, but hesitated a moment, staring up at Komaeda. Komaeda felt his head spin more and he wasn't really sure if he was standing or not. His skin felt cold but his body felt hot. Nagito was quietly hoping he hadn't just eaten a rock. With a long, drawn out sigh, he closed his eyes for a moment. He tried to figure out what was going on. He could barely hear the door open and the footsteps that followed.

"Nagito, are you okay?" Komaeda could feel Hajime's hands on his shoulders, it really helped him regain balance.

"I'm fine," Komaeda insisted, opening his eyes to see the bunny was now absent and Hajime took up most of his view. "I just need to lay down… can you help me downstairs?"

"Of course, Nagito… Just take it easy now, okay?" Hinata started to take him downstairs. Glancing back at the bathroom door… he wondered if she was really in there… or if that was his brains final way of causing him pain.


	10. The Beach Episode!

Here's the report card for this chapter: document/d/1DpfXJlOHguXBqG8nwnm088XtnuSh2lU8lCTIxsFX4Ag/edit?usp=sharing

I recommend using it if you don't usually, there's bonus pictures in this one!

* * *

" _Beaches are pretty fun! Sinking into the water half naked, feeling the sun kiss your lovely skin like it's waited it's entire existence to meet you." Monokuma strode onto the stage, his round bear body now dressed in a skad bikini. "That is until you realise all the Ugly people who've arrived to share the same feeling! Old men in speedos, baggy suits flopping off people's asses like raggy skin, and just people you'd never want to see naked, all prancing around in YOUR rays of sun! It's an absolute mess!" Monokuma walked over to lean against a palm tree that had sprouted near the vending machine from the last visit to the theater._

 _He fanned himself with one of his paws, taking a deep breath as he looked out towards the dark audience of the theater. "Could you imagine how disgusting that is? Being the most important being on the beach and suddenly having to lay your eyes upon the disgusting feat that is some old, dying bastard! It's no way to spend a vacation, that's for sure!" Monokuma sighed, as if just the idea was exhausting him._

" _Well, I don't have much else for you," Monokuma said as he slowly sank onto the floor, a loud yawn escaping his jaw, "but I doubt someone like you has ever had problems like that. You don't seem like the person to visit the beach very often…"_

* * *

" _Gooooood Morning everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and Nighttime is officially over! Time to Rise and Shiiiiiine! Get ready to greet another Beauuuutiful day! "_

Himura slowly woke from bed with a low groan. It felt like every other day he'd woken up in this hell hole. Groggy, tired, and kind of wishing he was dead. But today wasn't nearly as bad as the previous one, he was actually able to pull himself out of bed without too much effort this time. Getting coffee was easy too as he already found his mind drifting towards the cafe upstairs. He'd definitely have to go there next, spending the entire day in there sounded like a dream come true. He was already cleaning himself up to head up to the room when there was a knock on his door.

Himura paused before going to tug the door open, surprised when he saw Luna standing at his door. She was digging through a bag hanging from her arm. She glanced up at him, making eye contact before she let a smile slip onto her lips. The expression made Himura shudder as if she was planning something devious. Himura felt as if he should be afraid as she pulled a folded article of clothing from her bag.

"What's this for?" Himura asked, taking the cloth and feeling the smooth fabric of what looked like a pair of shorts.

"We're all going to the pool, remember?" Luna stated, adjusting her back on her shoulder as the grin still stood strong over her lips. "Here's your bathing suit. The Beach Party starts at Noon. So eat breakfast then meet us all upstairs! Got it?"

Himura glanced at the suit before nodding. The barista couldn't help but feel a little bit… scared. She didn't sound like she was asking him a question, it was more like he showed up or he faced serious consequences. So much for a relaxing day at the cafe…

"So I'll see you in a few hours." Luna stated as she took a few steps towards the next room to deliver the news to the rest of the hall.

Himura quietly sank back into his room as he felt more exhausted than before. He liked spending time with his friends, that was one thing he knew for sure, but swimming wasn't something he had ever enjoyed. The barista had always been uncomfortable at beaches, everyone running around half naked, confident in how they look and who they were. It was a place where Himura felt alien, like he didn't belong there. Sighing, Himura unrolled the bathing suit. At least it was a much bigger pair, going down to at least the boy's knees. For a moment, he was really terrified that the seamstress was going to make him some kind of form fitting bathing suit. That would have really killed him.

The Barista decided to try it on and was surprised to find it was the most comfortable pair of swimming trunks he had ever tried on. The inside had a soft mesh that gently hugged his legs. The fabric nicely folded over his legs. Himura also had to admit that the fabric was pretty cute. The neutral, dark brown was spotted with pink, blue, orange, and yellow spots splattered around the suit. Himura would be a liar if he said he didn't like the design of it.

Himura's only problem with it wa the fact he'd have to go… shirtless. That wasn't something Himura really wasn't excited by the idea of that. He'd always been a little bit on the… heavier side, to say the least. He paused, grabbing a shirt out of his closet and tossing it to the side. He tugged off the swimsuit, planning on putting it on closer to the time for the party. Instead diving into his usual sweater wear. The usual, warm sweater with a nice, loose pair of jeans warming him up as he decided to head out for the cafe. Sure, he had to go to the pool with his friends later, but in the 2 and a half hours before that Himura was going to enjoy the new, coffee rich room as much as he could before he had to meet up with his peers.

The swimwear was brought with him up into the cafe as the barista enjoyed his few hours alone. He drank a few different kinds of coffee, experimenting with the different beans provided to him in this lovely establishment. Though his heart was racing from the heavy amounts of caffeine he'd ingested the barista couldn't possibly feel more relaxed.

After a while, Himura got lost in it all. The relaxing feeling of warmth wash down his throat and spread through him like a smooth blanket. He had already forgotten about the party as he messed with the bag of beans Hotta had given him. For a moment he felt… He wished he could have known her better before she died… Or prevented her death. Sadly, he popped a few into his mouth as he looked the bag over. She must have been really lucky to find these because Himura had searched the entire school and it seemed like this was the only bag. What a shame, looked as if he'd have to really savor these. He leaned back, taking a long sip from his coffee when...

A loud slam sounded through the room, causing Himura to jump out of his skin. Quickly he had to regain his composure to prevent his cup from being shattered into pieces on the floor. Before Himura really had the time to calm down from being startled, Luna was making her way over to the counter, slamming her hands down.

"I thought I might find you here. You're not even in your bathing suit! What do you think you're doing?" Luna was seething at this point as she leaned over the counter to glare at Himura, who was still trying to gather himself after such a loud entrance.

"What? I was making myself breakfast." Himura explained, moving away from the counter for a moment as he went to scoop a handful of chocolate covered beans out of the bag to toss in his mouth. "Besides, it can't be that late already?"

"Already? It's been three hours! You were supposed to be down the hall ten minutes ago!" Luna hissed more, crossing her arms under her chest before quickly adding, "Now, let's go."

"Can I skip?" Himura spat out before he thought the words over, "I really don't like swimming or being in a bathing suit. I'd really just be a bummer to have at your party."

Luna paused for a moment, the harsh look on her face slowly twisting. Himura prepared himself for something intense, yelling? Name calling? He found himself preparing for her to lash out at him but was surprised when she only started laughing. "Is that it?"

Himura paused, still trying to calm himself from his flight or fight response. Himura rubbed the back of his head as he leaned over the counter. "Wh-Yeah? That's it- How is that funny."

Luna chuckled and gave that deviant smirk from before as she moved to press a the palm of one of her hands to her cheek. "No Himura, I'd just figured you only wanted to be excluded from the party because you thought it was a waste of time. I already had to drag Sweeney to the pool by his arm."

"Why are you so desperate to have this party, Luna?" Himura asked, a bit curious of his friend's intentions.

"Isn't it obvious? To have a good time with my friends. To soak up some sun! To bring everyone out of the slumps they were in yesterday… just like you tried to do." Luna started as her voice grew soft. Though, as she continued, the intensity increased as well. "I need everyone to come to the party. That way we can have a nice get together with friends. A time for everyone to bond. If one of us is missing, the effort is worthless. So you don't have a choice! Get dressed and let's go!"

Himura groaned, scooping up the bathing suit from it's place in the back as he went to go to one of the back rooms to change. "Alright, just give me a second."

"Aw, don't be so sad about it. If you need a reason to really want to go to this, remember that you get to see everyone pretty much in their underwear. There has to be at least one person you wanna see strip down!" Luna shouted after the barista as he ducked into the back room to change. "I can promise you I made Kaito something absolutely… fitting."

Himura couldn't help the curiosity that sprung up in the back of his mind at the thought of whatever Luna had made the actor. Maybe this beach party wouldn't be so bad after all.

It only took Himura a few minutes to tug on the suit and shirt, both of them fitting loosely on his body. He paused, taking a moment to brush everything down, adjusting the shirt over the rim of the pants before combing his fingers through his hair. For a moment he considered taking off his beanie, leaving it behind to go to this pool. With a slight pause, Himura carefully put the hat back on his head. Today didn't feel like the day to live without his beanie.

Walking back out into the cafe, Himura was surprised to see Luna waiting for him. He didn't know why he'd expected her to have left. She must really not trust Himura to go on his own. Guess there really was no skipping out on this party. Luna pouted slightly when Himura came out, moving to rub her cheek.

"I probably can't talk that shirt off of you, can I?" She whined, looking slightly disappointed, as if she already knew the answer.

Himura couldn't stop the slight chuckle that bubbled up from his chest. "Not a chance, Luna."

Luna giggled as she grabbed Himura by the wrist, starting towards the door and dragging him with her. "Yeah, I figured I wasn't your type."

Himura quickly grabbed his smaller baggie of chocolate cappuccino beans and crammed them into the pocket of his swim trunks. There was a good chance he might need something to munch on while everyone's having fun.

When they got to the door, only two people stood outside the giant, wood doors. Bellerose and Niijima seemed to be waiting but they perked up the moment Luna came into view. Weird, maybe everyone else was inside the room already. That's when Himura noticed the clock on the wall between this door and the cafe.

"Luna! It's only 11:30!" Himura gasped, looking over at his friend with a startled reaction.

"Yeah, I know." Luna said, glancing at the clock before her eyes locked back onto Himura.

"Wha- You said I was late!"

"Oh yeah, I did, didn't I?" Luna smiled, she knew what she did. "I lied. I knew you and Sweeney would be some of the last to get ready so I decided to get you both ready first. Now you go inside while we finish getting everything ready."

Himura wanted to be mad but… she was kind of right. If she hadn't made Himura come early, he would have been late. He glanced at her as she opened the door, escorting him inside before shutting the door behind him.

The barista would have pouted for a little bit longer if he hadn't seen the inside of this room. This entire time he'd been confused on why Luna kept calling this a 'beach party' if it was taking place at an indoor pool. But… seeing the inside of the room now, it was completely obvious why.

Himura had to glance behind him to make sure the door was still behind him before looking back forward at the beach that spread out in front of him. It was almost unbelievable that he'd just come from inside the school. Even when he looked towards where the walls _had_ to be, he couldn't seem to find them. It was like everything disappeared into the distance. The sand between his toes, the fresh air that seemed to wrap around him, hell, even the smell reminded him of a tropical beach.

"Did they lock you in here too?" Himura was caught off guard as Sweeney suddenly spoke. The small tattoo artist was curled into a ball. Sitting on a beach towel under one of the umbrellas that was now perched into the dirt. Sending shade from the artificial, yet realistic, sun down onto the artist. "Damn bitch wouldn't take no for an answer."

"Yeah, She tricked me too. Told me I was late." Himura spoke as he sat next to the artist. At first he thought he had some weird sleeves on, but up closer… his arms were covered in detailed tattoos. Himura felt stupid for feeling surprised to see them but Sweeney had always looked so… proper.

This was the first time Himura had ever seen the tattoo artist without a long sleeved shirt. Now, it was like seeing the artist in a whole new light. The boy was sitting there in the sand, the usual grumpy face narrowing his brow as his glasses slowly slipping down his nose. That was a familiar site, but the boy's chest was covered in a binder that was a slightly different color than his skin. His bare arms are what were really eye catching, however. One arm was covered in detailed, overlapping lines. Geometrical shapes that created an amazing technical tattoo. Just by looking at it, one could easily see how much detail and time was put into it. The other was no different. The image of an hourglass on his upper arm. The carefully crafted glass was shattering near the bottom as sand poured out from the bottle, wrapping all the way down the artist's arm down to his wrist. What caught Himura's eyes the most where the lovely peonies that lined the design, the pink color of the pink color of the flowers mixing with the reddish brown sand. At the very end of the sand's trail was a heart that looked damaged. The sand of the hourglass wrapping around the heart as if cradling it.

"You gonna stare any longer?" Sweeney grumbled as he stared up at Himura, moving one of his small hands to push his large, round glasses back onto his face. The barista didn't even realize he was staring until the other student pointed it out.

"Sorry, they're very- uh." Himura stammered out, unsure of what words he wanted to use at first.

"Very what? Very uncharacteristic, very delinquent, very unprofessional?" Sweeney had a bit of bite behind his words, already ready to fight. Himura honestly wondered if the kid had any chill whatsoever.

"Wh-? No! Not at all! I was going to say amazing. The linework is almost unbelievable. Whoever did them put a lot of work into them. I'm just surprised, I never thought you'd let someone else tattoo you." Himura scrambled for his explanation, trying to find his words as quickly gathered his description.

Sweeney paused before laughing. "I never would let anyone else tattoo me." The tattoo artist smirked, pushing his glasses back up his face as he watched the barista sit in the dirt next to him. "A tattoo done by anyone else won't show how great I am. It's always been one of my greatest challenges. No tattoo artist has been able to do their own tattoos and make them look nice."

"Oh," Himura started, looking over the tattoos again before making eye contact with his friend again. "Then did you figure out a way to tattoo yourself? Is that how you got into Hope's Peak Academy?"

"No, I got in because I tattooed a man's entire body in two days without scarring him. It got me a lot of attention as an artist, that's for sure. That was when Mr. Komaeda came to my tattoo parlor to see me in person."

"Then, if you didn't do it, who did?"

"I did them. I can tell. I don't remember doing them… though…" A conflicted, worried look washed of Sweeney's face, almost as if he was angry at himself. "Hell, I can't even remember what they mean. I know I started this one-" Sweeney gestured towards the geometric tattoo, "- when I was accepted. It was the newest project I was working on, learning how to tattoo myself."

"Well, looks like you figured it out." Himura stated, his eyes scanning over the carefully shaded geometric tattoo and the colorful sleeve that decorated the other arm. They looked like works created by the Ultimate Tattoo Artist.

"No kidding." Sweeney said as he looked over the newer tattoo. Himura's eyes caught words carefully stitched into the heart that was surrounded by the sand. But it was just for a moment, not allowing Himura to get a good glimpse at what they said. "But it feels wrong… Not remembering why I got this. It's infuriating. Right now they're a constant reminder that a large chunk of my life was taken from me! Something so important happened to me that I felt the need to tattoo it on my body. "

Himura paused before reaching over, patting his friend on the back. "Don't worry, Sweeney. If it was important to you, I'm sure it'll come back to you soon."

Sweeney snorts a laugh, looking smug for a moment as he leaned back against the pole of the umbrella. "Yeah, isn't that a hopeful thought?"

Himura went to object, not wanting to let the other student stay on such a negative attitude, but he was quickly interrupted by the sound of music. The barista almost jumped out of his skin as he saw Niijima suddenly playing music from large speakers near the entrance of the room. Himura watched as the DJ set up her work station, working through her music. Soon, Bellerose headed in after her, carrying a basket of food in with her. She seemed to be setting up towels near the DJ's music station. The two really looked like they were setting up for a party.

"Finally starting to look like a party." Sweeney joked as he watched the two girls start to set up more towels and bring in more baskets of food. "I know I'm excited for some more of Bellerose's cooking."

"That is something to look forward to." Himura agreed as he watched the two seem to finish their prepping. Niijima hops behind her speakers and table as she continued the music for the party. Himura wouldn't lie, it definitely shot the party vibes into his muscles like a shot. Himura looked around, trying to find some kind of clock inside the room. He just wanted to see if it was finally noon. To his dismay, however, there wasn't a single clock on the beach. In a way, though, it made sense. Beaches usually didn't have walls that could hold clocks. "What time do you think it is?"

"It's gotta be noon by now." Sweeney stated, his eyes moving behind his glasses to look towards the door just as Sato burst into the room.

The racer threw her hands up into the air as she rushed through the open doors. She must have slammed into the door during her entree because the doors picked up enough momentum to slam against the wall. Himura swore that he saw the beach sky flicker around the door, destroying the illusion for just a moment.

"This party has got me FUCKING pumped!" Himura watched the racer yell before running over to the DJ. He was surprised by the girl's swimsuit… usually Sato had her jumpsuit zipper far down below her chest. Himura had expected the girl to take advantage of the time to be completely bare skinned, but instead, she wore a tight, full body wetsuit. The collar of the suit went half way up her neck and was zipped all the way to the top. Made sense, though, it was probably the most aerodynamic swimsuit you can get and everyone knows Sato always likes to go fast.

There was a pause before Sato turned towards the two boys. Her eyes locked on Himura before she rapidly waved at them. She must have been shot down by Niijima because the music professional didn't even look up at the other student. Now, bouncing hack from the rejection, Sato was charging over to Himura.

"Yo! How's it going? You ready for this?" Sato dropped down, a bit of sand flying upwards from how fast the girl sat down.

"Why would I be excited for this? I hate being half naked AND swimming. I'd rather be in the cafe." Himura groaned, personally unsure of why Sato seemed to bounce over to him next.

"Because, you get to see everyone else naked." Sato smiled wide, her sharp canines glistening in the weirdly real sunlight.

Himura blushed slightly at the thought. Himura's voice came out in almost a yelp, coming out weak in quite a few places. "Wh-why do you think I'd be excited by that?"

"Well, you're one of the few people who've been pretty open about your crush." Sato explained, leaning forward as she readied herself for the next part. "Plus, you're the only other kid who's so openly gay."

"I- Wha- Have I really been so- But! I don't -!" Himura scrambled for words, everything he wanted to say barely escaping his mind every time. So instead he ended up with a jumbled mess of words that made no damn sense. But was Himura really that open about it? He'd never been very closed off with his sexuality, sure, it had never been a problem with anyone. But his crush? He didn't think he was being _that_ obvious, however, according to everyone around him, it was _really_ prominent.

"Don't worry, I don't think Kaito's noticed." Sato tried to comfort him as Himura probably looked like he was about to explode. "The guy is kind of an air head."

"No kidding on that one." Sweeney piped up again. "Just a few days ago Kaito was complaining that he didn't know how to use the microwave! Or the dishwasher! They're both so self explanatory, how could he not know how they work?"

"Dishwashers are a bit complicated…" Himura tried to justify the other man's lack of knowledge but he came up with nothing. "You… uh… gotta make sure all the dishes are in the right place? And you even have to be careful what soap you use!"

"Yeah, sounds like a real challenge." Sweeney probed. "Using soap that is clearly 'for dishwasher' must be really hard for anyone to do."

"Okay, okay, So he doesn't know how to work a dishwasher. Maybe he's not used to using one." Himura tried to find a new defense for the actor, though, he wasn't too sure of this one either.

"Makes sense. He seems like the kind of guy who's never had to do his own chores." Sweeney gave a small nod, signifying that was a good enough answer for him.

"I just-" Himura went to object more, wanted to find something to defend Kaito, even if he had nothing really to offer. He was cut off, halfway through his sentence as his attention was taken somewhere else.

Back to the entrance of the beach, the door swung open again and Luna walked in. She smiled as she looked over the beach, looking proud of herself until her eyes landed on the three of them squatted in the far reaches of the beach. However, she didn't seem to have to say anything. The group seemed to understand what to do as they quickly hopped to their feet and headed over to the towels set out by the party planners.

Once they were closer it was easier to make out the three girl's bathing suits. Unlike Sato, they actually looked like they didn't dress for practicality. Luna had a bright yellow suit, one with elaborate stitchings and seems. They looked as if they had to have taken hours to put together as strings tied the sides of the suit together. Himura tried to figure out how she might have put together all of these tiny pieces but still couldn't seem to figure it out. Guess there was a reason she was the Ultimate Seamstress and he was just a Barista.

Bellerose was over by the towels, helping set out all of the foods she had just created for her guests. Her suit had ruffles chest of her outfit, just like the cravat she wore with her regular outfit. Her bottom was a lot… tighter than the top as it showed off every curve of her hips.

Then there was Niijima, the Dj was messing with her prosthetic arm, typing something into the buttons that rested on top of the metal appendage. This was the first time Himura had really seen Niijima's suit in it's entirety. The Dj's suit was much cuter, the one piece had the image of a cat pasted onto the front, it's cute little eyes looking out at everyone. Himura couldn't help but note that even though they were at the beach, getting ready to swim, he could still see small earphones running up from the girl's arm into her ears. Did she ever stop listening to music?

"You all better try to have fun." Luna warned, her glare sweeping over them before she turned to look at the door. "Everyone is on there way now! I couldn't be more excited!'

Himura did feel something bubble up in his gut as he slowly started to hear footsteps approach the outside of the door. It felt like a mixing bowl of excitement and anxiety. He was anxious for his own lack of clothes. Even though he had a shirt on it still felt like nothing compared to what he usually wore. The excitement was for a lot of different reasons. The thought of getting to spending time with his friends, to fully appreciate their company and friendship. Then there was also the idea of seeing Kaito in his bathing suit… he couldn't lie about being excited to see what the already extravagant actor had wiggled himself into. Now the two feelings were battling it out inside his gut, both of them fighting for which tot to be the dominant feeling. The churning in his gut just made him feel more sick.

The door opened and the first person to stroll in was Sugai. It took a lot in Himura to not instantly take a step back as the giant figure burst through the doors. The guy was almost completely naked, save the small speedo he had on. With a loud laugh, one of his meaty hands gestured with a thumbs up towards Luna, who mirrored his response.

Right behind the large speaker came Eguchi and Kusonoki. The two girls wore black two piece bathing suits. Eguchi's had a high waisted bottom that seemed to cover up most of her stomach. Kusonoki seemed to have just an average looking bikini at first, but when Himura looked a little harder, he could see the small ghost pattern that was in the smooth fabric. He had to admit, that was pretty cute. The two girls were talking to each other, smiles creasing both of their lips. Both of them paused when they saw Himura, waving before heading over to one of the towels to take a seat.

Next came Iris, the small Botanist was dressed in a cute, floral print bikini. The colors were all soft pastels, cute to look at and seemed to fit her just right. It was funny, the blond little gardener usually wore a sun hat around the school, but now that they were in some 'real' sun, the hat was absent. Himura wondered if she actually knew what a sunhat was used for.

"Oh great, do you see him? Who the fuck wears that kind of shit?" Sweeney growled, Himura wasn't sure who he was talking about until he saw Koba, the scientist was strolling in close behind Iris, a big, goofy grin on his face. Himura could see what upset Sweeney so much, though, because even Himura could feel the second hand embarrassment rise up in his gut looking at the kid. The wannabe skater had on neon colored swim trunks, ones that surprisingly matched his jacket. Plus, the guy still had his hat on. But the worst part had to be his feet. Koba had socks on that went up past his calf a bit, the socks in the shape of a shark eating his leg. His feet had sandles latched to them like urchins. Himura barely had any style and he knew not to wear that kind of stuff to a beach.

Luna wasn't pleased either. She stepped out, scolding him before pointing down at his feet. She started to shame him, telling him how he ruined the perfect trunks she had made for him with his ridiculous style. Koba just seemed confused by her complaints, responding with how it was the only way to dress to the beach and how he was worried his feet would get cold. While the two argued near the door, Himura barely noticed as Sweeney moved around the group, going to stand past Luna. The sly grin that crept onto his face signaled to Himura what was about to happen.

Kobayashi eventually laughed, waving Luna off before he went to run after Iris too the beach. However, Sweeney had expected just this, kicking his own foot out just in time to collide with the lanky legs of Kobayashi, causing the scientist to crash into the sand, spraying the dirt all around as he planted head first once again into the ground. The entire group burst into laughter at the sight. Himura had to try hard to stop himself from laughing, but why was Koba so good at falling?

"We're already off to a great start, aren't we darling?"

The voice sent warm pins down his back, the breath hitting his neck in a rush that caused him to swallow hard. The breath rolling down his neck, a bit of it tucking down underneath the collar of his shirt. The scene had pulled his attention away from the door and now he was taken by surprise as Kaito's face peeked over his shoulder. Himura whipped around quickly to face the actor. Himura's breath was rushed out of him in a quick gust as if he'd just been blasted in the gut.

"You okay?" Kaito chuckled, shifting as he lefited a hand to run his fingers through his gorgous red hair. "You look a little faint."

Himura let out a choking, nervous laugh. Trying to gather up his words as he looked up at the other man. But it was… it was hard to keep his eyes on his face this time. Sure, he'd seen Kaito shirtless before. When the actor had lost his shirt due to his own coffee spill. But that was only the pecs and up. Now the Actor was practically naked, a tight, european swimsuit hugging him so tight it made Himura turn a velvety color. He had to force his eyes back up to Kaito, swallowing hard as his stomach turned into a high speed washing machine.

Kaito let out a loud laugh, leaning forward before patting Himura's shoulder. "I can't believe you wore your hat here!" Kaito remarked, moving two of his slender fingers to gently touch the old, worn yarn of the hat. "Oh! This feels like it's ancient darling! You might need a fashion update, honey."

Himura pulled away slightly, not really comfortable with anyone touching his hat. "Yeah, it's a relic, but it's important to me…"

Kaito paused, he could see a hesitation in his face for a moment. Then he quickly switched to a giant grin, a laugh coming from his throat in a sweet melody. "Well isn't that fantastic!"

Himura happened to glance at the door just in time to see the teachers stroll in. He was surprised to see them, he couldn't explain why, but he really didn't expect them to show up here. Which was a stupid thought in retrospect. Why wouldn't they come here? They needed to watch over the students.

Himura watched as they went to sit down with some of the other students. They seemed to split up into their own respective groups. Except for Komaeda and Hajime, the two seemed to stay pretty close.

An arm wrapped around Himura's shoulder as the actor leaned close again. Suddenly Himura was reminded of his partially naked peer. "Let's go sit with our groups. I don't know about you but I've been waiting for lunch all day."

Himura chuckled and let the actor lead him towards their groups, sitting down on the towels near their group. He gave a smile to Komaeda, the teacher looking up and waving back. Himura couldn't help his mental pause for a moment. The teacher looked so pale, especially in the current light. The new setting making the teacher look more ghastly than normal. Pulling his eyes away, he could see Koba sitting in the corner of the group, staring off towards Iris across the way. Then there was Eguchi, silently sitting with her legs tucked under her body.

Right now, Only Kaito was sitting with Hajime. Luna was over at the dj station, chatting with Niijima for a moment. Probably about how they could really pump up this party.

"Do we have to sit here?" Koba whined, looking back only for a moment.

"Why," Komaeda asked, the teachers cloud like hair bouncing as he tilted his head slightly, "is there something wrong?"

"No, I uh, I just wanna ask Tanaka-San a question." Koba was obviously lying. The dude rubbed his neck as he looked back towards the botanist.

"Ah, I understand. No one would ever want to spend time with a rotting pile of filth like me." Komaeda sighed, moving to rub his own face with an almost understanding look. "You can leave if you really want."

Koba looked conflicted for a moment. Like he didn't know what to do with himself. Then he suddenly got quiet, looking around and shaking his head. "No, Sensei. I'll stay. We'll have plenty of time later."

Komaeda looked confused for a moment, like he didn't understand the student's sudden change of heart. He tilted his head a bit more as he watched the student, his eyes carefully scanning him before the other teacher spoke.

""Don't be like that. You're doing fine." Hajime said, reaching over and patting Komaeda's hand. "Are you feeling okay? Do you need anything to eat?"

"I'm not hungry." Komaeda responded, sounding a little… blank about it all. The response only seemed to worry Hajime more, but the teacher pulled away.

There was a moment's pause before Luna suddenly came over, flopping down next to her teacher with a big grin. "Is everyone having a good time? I figured we can all eat together, then we can go out and enjoy the waves together! Doesn't that sound fun?"

"I know I'm not getting into that filthy water." Kaito responded first, fanning himself and leaning forward. "Who knows what kind of chemicals they put in it? Plus, it could absolutely ruin my hair! I spent hours styling it this morning, it would be a waste."

"Are you kidding me?" Luna whisper yelled at him, keeping her voice down and her teeth gritted together. "Why would you do your hair if you're going to the beach?"

"Isn't it obvious? I have to look good! I think I'll just relax on the beach for now. Let my skin soak up these beautiful rays." Kaito relaxed on the towel, a grin spreading over his lips as he held his hand over his eyes to block out the sun.

"I don't plan on swimming either." Himura admitted only to get another annoyed groan from Luna.

"What about you, Kobayashi? Do you plan on swimming?" Luna glared over at the boy, looking as if he didn't say the right thing, she might kill him right there.

"I plan on doing what ever Iris is doing." Koba admitted with a shrug. "And it's just Ko-"

"Alright! That's not too bad! Iris seems like she might swim!." Luna barked, finally pulling her eyes to Eguchi. The girl looked uninterested for the moment, her eyes looking off towards the water.

"I plan on swimming with Kusonoki today. I promised her I'd do that." Eguchi answered before the other girl even had the chance to ask. Eguchi's words seemed to finish calming Luna down, the seamstress taking a long, deep breath.

After that discussion, the groups waited to be called up for food by Bellerose.. The chef had created plates full of the most delicious picnic food Himura had ever seen. It was just a gallery of amazing, little finger sandwiches, diced fruits, skewers, wraps, and a selection of desserts to go finish it all off. There were also drinks, bottled sodas of various colors, along with pitchers of tea that Bellerose had to have hand crafted herself. Once everyone got their foods together, the people seemed to separate from their groups, sitting wherever they wanted. Himura noticed with a small feeling of joy that they had all gathered in one big group to eat. Himura scooped up a few things, a canned coffee, and plopped himself down in one of the open seats.

Kaito was sipping on one of the sodas as he looked up as Himura sat down next to him. Bellerose was sitting on the other side of Kaito, the chef slowly picking at her own food, looking a little sour at the lack of food Kaito was eating. Sugai let out a loud laugh, waving as his friend entered the area. Sato had plopped herself in between Eguchi and Kusonoki. Iris was sitting next to Tanaka, talking quietly with the teacher as Sweeney sat on the other side of the teacher. Koba had worked his way to Iris side, though at the moment, the skater was too busy digging into his food. Even Niijima had joined them, getting comfortable in her seat next to Souda as she worked at her arm. Luna eventually moved into the seat next to Bellerose, whispering something to the other girl as they both started to laugh. Hajime and Komaeda sat on the opposite side of the ring from Himura.

The only one who hadn't taken a seat was Makoto. Himura looked over just in time for the teacher to walk over towards their piece of the group. He went to go sit in the small gap between Himura and Kaito. Himura went to scoot to make room for the teach, but instead felt a hand grab onto his shoulder. Before Himura could really comprehend it, he was being tugged closer to Kaito's side. Blocking off the teacher from the open position with a low grunt.

Himura could see the pause in the teacher's expression. But with a slight sigh, he to sit over by Komaeda and Hajime. Looking preoccupied with other business as the group chattered amongst themselves.

"It sure is nice being in the sun again!' Sugai barked from his spot.

"I agree!" Iris piped up from her spot, a smile creasing her face as she giggled.

"As do I!" Gundam exclaimed from his spot. Himura tried not to laugh at the goofy look of the teacher. He wore swim trunks and that scarf. "My Devas are enjoying this opportunity to truly bath in this artificial radiance!"

As if the words summoned them, the hamsters once again crawled from his scarf. Scampering around in an excited manner. Without a moment's hesitation, Iris' eyes lit up. She reached into her own little bag of belongings to pull out a small package.

"Mr. Tanaka," Iris started, getting the teacher's attention before asking her question. "I got your hamster's a present! Is it okay if I give it to them?"

Gundam paused for a moment before laughing. "You may try! However, success is not guaranteed, for they may not accept such earthly desires from a mortal."

Iris giggled, and Himura wondered if she understood anything he just said. She moved to crack the bag open, and the second she did, the hamsters scattered. Hopping over to Iris as she scooped out a handful of sunflower seeds.

"They're feet tickle!" Iris giggled as they gathered around her hand, grabbing out seeds and stuffing them in their fluffy, little cheeks. One of them gathered up his portion of the treat then climbed up to her shoulder. Settling down as he started to eat.

"Ah, their one weakness." Gundam exclaimed, though the teacher didn't look mad about it. He seemed more happy that the hamsters were having a good time.

"Hey!" Sweeney suddenly yelped. Himura quickly looked over to see one of the hamsters had worked it's way over to his shoulder. Curling up and chewing at a few of the seeds. "Why are you on me? I don't have anything for you!"

The hamster seemed unphased by Sweeney's concern as he continued to enjoy his snack on the artist's shoulder. Koba laughed, reaching over to try and scoop one of the hamster's off of Iris. "Aw! They're friendly? How- OUCH!"

Koba pulled his hand away quickly, squeezing one of his fingers as tears swelled up in the corner of his eyes. "I just wanted to hold one… no fair."

"My Dark Devas only let mortals they see as worthy be graced by their presence!" Gundam explained, smiling as a few of the hamsters crawled back onto their owner's scarf.

"Well, then why do they like Sweeney?" Koba whined, watching as another hopped over to the artist to settle down and cuddle with the other hamster.

Himura watched for a moment, he could see the confusing on the teacher's face. He looked… puzzled. Were the hamsters really that unfriendly? The teacher paused, pulling his hand up to his face in his melodramatic way. "Ha! I have no clue!"

Sweeney paused, looking grumpy for a moment, but Himura could see him move to pet one of the hamsters. His finger gently stroking their back.

"Hey, I know something that we all can do!" Sugai suddenly shouted, one of his meaty fists pounding down on the ground, throwing up sand as he looked over everyone. "Who's up for a friendly game of Chicken Fight?"

"What the hell is that?" Sweeney asked, looking up from the hamsters to shoot a look towards the speaker.

"It's a pool game!" Sugai stood to his feet, a giant grin sweeping over his broad face as he went to explain. But everyone looked surprised when he went and scooped Koba off the ground, tossing the lanky boy onto his shoulders. Koba looked as if he was going to have a heart attack. Gripping onto Sugai's head for dear life. "You get four people, one rides on the other shoulders, so you have two teams. Then, they battle in the water and try to knock the other team over!"

Sato jolted up to her feet next, a smile wiping over her face. "You're on, big guy!" She growled as she went to look over the group. "Who wants to be on my team first?"

"I'll do it." Luna said, hopping to her feet and running over to the tall racer. "I'm always open to a good, old fight!"

"Wait! I didn't agree to this!" Koba yelped as the four of them ran into the water, carrying their partners on their shoulders.

The entire group followed, standing on the shore of the beach as they started to cheer for either side. The four of them faced each other, Koba still looking like a terrified animal latched onto Sugai's shoulders. Luna looked like she was ready to fight. For a moment, Himura was actually afraid for Koba's well being.

There was a moment's pause before Kaito started to count down from five. Each drop of a number made the participants tense up. They looked like they were ready for war. Well, except for Koba. The poor scientist still didn't look like he knew what was going on.

"1!" Kaito shouted, and the group suddenly charged at each other. Luna grabbed onto Koba first, trying to tug him off of Sugai. It looked like she had him. Her hands tightly gripped onto his shoulders as she tried to tug him off the other student. But it was a surprise when Koba suddenly reached out, grabbing Luna by her elbows and suddenly his force to the same direction she was pushing him.

They both tipped, about to fall off their partners when Sugai held on tighter to Koba's legs, which suddenly tightened around Sugai, keeping him on nice and snug as Luna suddenly was plunged off of Sato's shoulders. The seamstress was plunged into the water, Sato fallowing as she tried to quickly grab her partner back up.

The crowd was surprised for a moment. Stunned by the sudden events of the battle. Then loud cheers carried through the beach. Fists pumping into the air as they happily cried and cheered for the winning team. Koba smiled for a moment, throwing peace signs up in the air as they started to cheer. Then Sugai threw up his arms, knocking Koba off his shoulders and into the water.

Sato and Luna worked their way back to the beach in defeat. Though Luna looked even more pumped than before. Looks like she was really getting what she wanted.

"Who's our next challenger?" Sugai shouted over the crowd. Koba popping out of the water a second after. Gasping for air as he scrambled for his hat, the neon green mess floating away in the water.

Kusonoki and Eguchi stepped up next, waddling out into the water before the ghost girl hopped onto the shoulders of the effects artist. Kusonoki let out a wild laugh, making a dramatic pose as she looked over her new enemies. "Prepare to be destroyed, just like the ghosts that have dared materialized in front of my eyes!"

Everyone watched as another battle ensued. This one lasted a little longer. The two of them battling it out. Kusonoki tried desperately to take Kobayashi down. At one point, it really looked like Kobayashi was going to crumble down into the water. He was tipping over when Sugai shouted out, his voice alone almost knocking over Eguchi.

"Don't give up, Fumio! Together we can take down anyone!" And charged forward once again. The two girls stumbled a bit trying to back up from the attack. The two boys caught them in their moment of weakness, pushing the girls hard enough to plunge them back into the water.

The two boys burst out laughing. Throwing hands up and accidentally tossing Koba into the water once more. The scientist quickly came back up, sputtering out water in a frenzy before cheering along with his partner. "We're unstoppable!"

"Who wishes to challenge us next?" Sugai bellowed, looking over the rest of their classmates as the two girls worked their way to the beach in defeat.

"Dammit!" Sweeney growled as he scooped the hamster's off his shoulder, putting them back on Gundam's shoulder as he took a step forward. "We have to beat him! I can't let him win this!"

"The need to battle Koba and win shone on his face. Determination blaring through him as he glared forward, ready to battle, ready to win. But who could he team up with? Who could help him secure his win." Kaito narrated the scene, acting it out with intensity and drama.

"Then, dear Niijima gripped onto her fellow warrior's shoulder. Bringing his attention to her as she told made a plan for attack. The two nodded, ready to defeat their new enemy of the sea." Kaito continued as the group watched the scene unfolded in front of them as their two friends worked their way out into the water.

"Ready?" Kaito shouted as the two teams got into position. "Get set darlings! Now Go!"

The battle ensued. Kaito's preparations really got Himura prepped for the battle. He watched as Koba and Sweeney locked hands, the two of them trying to push each other over, glaring into each others eyes with determination. On the bottom half, Niijima seemed unafraid of Sugai's booming voice and large body. The two met eye to eye and were both locked into a grinning stare off as they tried to help their partners.

Himura, just like everyone else, was watching the battle with intensity. But movement caught his eye for a moment, just in time to see Komaeda leaned up against one of the walls, sinking down it like he couldn't hold himself up anymore. In the next moment, Hajime ran over, helping the teacher to his feet and leading him out of the room.

He wondered if his teacher was okay. Dread washed over him at the thought of Komaeda falling ill. The closest thing they had to a doctor was Koba… yeah, that was a good reason to worry. He swallowed hard, but turned back to watch his friends fight.

The barista looked just in time to see them both fall off, Sweeney and Koba both fell at the same time, both boys grabbing out at something to try and stable themselves. Himura looked up just in time to see the artist grip onto the other boy's trunks.

A giant splash filled the beach as the two fell into the water. Sugai leg out an earsplitting laugh as he moved to high five Niijima. The two laughed together as they strolled out of the water together. Sweeney popped up next, coughing up water as he quickly started to swim after his two friends. Then Koba came up, shaking his yellow hair and spitting water out of his mouth again. There was a moment of hesitation before his whole face turned red. He swallowed hard as he looked around, his eyes obviously scanning the area for something important. That was when Himura saw Kobayashi's pants floating away, already a few feet away from their owner.

"Koba! What's taking you so long?" Sugai shouted across the water. The motivational speaker still didn't seem to notice the swim trunks that now floated away from Kobayashi. "Come on out! We're celebrating out win."

"i-In a minute!" Koba shouted back, slowly sinking into the water as he tried to puzzle over how to get his trunks back. The longer he waited, though, the more the pants drifted away from the skater.

"What's taking him so long?" Luna puzzled, the seamstress obviously was ready to get the group moving onto the next activity.

"Come on you idiot! Don't be a sore loser and get the hell over here!" Sweeney shouted as he reached the shore, glaring out towards the other boy as he slowly sank deeper into the water.

"I didn't lose!" Koba snapped back, his head barely sticking out of the water. "A-And I can't come back… Not yet."

"What the hell is he talking about?" Sweeney growled to the people around him as he glared out over the water.

Himura sighed, going to gently tap one of their shoulders to quietly alert them of the situation when he was suddenly caught off guard.

"Koba lost his Swim Trunks!" Sato shouted over the group, the racer pointing them out as they floated over the water. "Ha! Thats embarrassing!"

Himura watched as Koba sank deeper into the water, his entire head soon being emerged into the water.

"Ah! He's going to drown!" Iris shouted from the sidelines, her eyes growing wide with worry.

"Someone get him!" Bellerose growled, "I don't want to go through another trial because this bitch killed himself."

Himura went to look for the suit in the water, trying to locate it so he could jump in and give it to him. But suddenly it was gone. The water seemed to have swallowed it up. Himura looked around, panicked for a moment until Sato jumped into the water. The girl treaded water like a boat, quickly speeding through the water before disappearing where Koba had dunk himself down.

It seemed like a long moment before anything happened. Himura could feel himself holding his breath, even though he knew that nothing bad could happen here… right? He could finally breath again as Sato popped out from the water with a limp Koba tossed over her shoulder.

She gave a thumbs up as she slowly swam to shore. Koba was still alive on her shoulder, coughing up water as he wiggled to try and tug his swim trunks back on. Sato dropped Koba onto the beach, everyone seemed to move on now that the boy had touched land again. Barely noticing as Koba coughed up a bit more water as he quickly tried to pull his trunks back on. Himura personally couldn't decide what was more embarrassing, losing his trunks in the water or the fact no one seemed to even care he was okay. Sato paused a moment before dropping Koba down onto the ground, the wannabe skater barely landing on his feet.

Himura watched as Sugai and Niijima laughed with each other, patting each other's backs with giant grins. Though Himura was more interested in seeing Koba stroll across the beach, adjusting his swim trunks as he looked around, glad most of the attention had moved off of him. His face was still beat red, obviously embarrassed from what had just happened. With a long, drawn out sigh, Koba walked past Himura, avoiding eye contact with the Barista as the scientist seemed to focus on his sandals back on the beach towels.

Himura was caught off guard for a moment as the other student passed him. Not by anything he did or said, but by something on him. From what Himura saw, it looked like there was a small mark on the other boy's shoulder. He only caught a glance, so it could have just been a mole, but it was darker than the rest of his skin and looked… like an indent. Himura watched the other boy make his way to his sandals, looking slightly defeated and embarrassed as he bent down to pick them up.

The second Koba stuffed his foot into the sock, Himura could here the gross slosh of his wet foot meeting the sand inside. Koba looked embarrassed as Sweeney roared into laughter, pointing at Koba as the skater's socks were now filled with sand, only coating his feet more with the gritty mess.

"Ha! _Someone_ filled your socks with sand!" Sweeney laughed, getting a few others to laugh with him. "Yeah, FUCK YOU."

Koba looked confused for a moment, then just looked slightly irritated. "Man! That ain't cool… they're knitted… the sand will never come out."

Sweeney just kept laughing. Koba continued to pout over his ruined socks before Iris strolled over. The gardner whispered something to him and they both burst out giggling. Back over by Sweeney, everyone else was moving onto the next beach activity. Himura couldn't help but smile. Seemed like this day on the beach was going to be a good time.

* * *

"Sugai! Stop laughing! You're making it hard for me to make your boobs." Eguchi laughed as pushed more sand onto the already buried Sugai's chest. The special effects artist was busy trying to sculpt sandy breasts on her friend with a grin.

"It's hard to hold it in!" Sugai shouted, trying not to wiggle in the sand. Only the Motivational speakers head was poking out of the sand. The rest of the massive man's body was buried deep in what was slowly becoming a mermaid.

Down near the legs, Kusonoki and Eguchi were working, occasionally giggling as they formed the tail of the new beast. Himura couldn't stop the small smile that slipped onto his lips.

"You are becoming more majestic by the moment, my new mythical beast!" Kusonoki bellowed, her finger gently trying to carve scales into the tail.

"Thank you!" Sugai shouted.

Himura smiled as he watched his friends play in the sand. He glanced over to his side, looking over to his side to see Kaito still elegantly laying on some beach chair he'd found. The actor was laying back, giant sunglasses over his face, and a fancy glass resting on his chest. The actor looked majestic, spread out on the chair as he basked in the sunlight. Himura really enjoyed this time they were spending together. Sitting next to each other in silence. Well, it was better than nothing.

Himura sighed to himself, laying his head on his knees as he watched his friends. The sand must have been comfortable because Sugai had fallen asleep underneath the sand. Himura dug through his pocket, pulling out his back of mocha beans and slowly munching on them.

Eguchi looked over, pausing from sculpting Sugai's breasts to look over to her friend. "What are those?"

Himura looked up from the bag, shoving a few more in his mouth as he made eye contact with her. His mouth was full of beans as glanced from her to the bag. "They're Mocha Beans covered in Dark Chocolate."

"Can I try some?" Eguchi asked, her voice as gentle as usual.

"I want to try some too!" Kusonoki yelped, crawling from the tail of the Merman and heading over towards Himura. "Please?"

Himura paused, surprised at his friends' sudden interest. He chuckled before giving them both a handful. The two girls giggled, Kusonoki quickly started cramming beans into her mouth, giggling how good they are. The two girls both stuck them off to the side, obviously saving them for later.

"Thank you! They're so tasty!" Kusonoki said as she ate one last one before cramming the rest of them into her spare bag.

"Yeah, thank you Himura." Eguchi said with a soft smile. She dunked the rest of them into her makeup bag.

"No problem, I don't mind sharing." Himura said with a smile. Shifting his bag so he could grab another bean. But the barista paused as another hand moved in front of his vision. Slender fingers grabbing one of the beans. Himura looked up just in time to see Kaito toss it in his mouth.

"Thanks Hu-" Kaito suddenly got a gross look swarm over his face. The actor jolted forward, swallowing hard as he went to cover his face. "Why is it so bitter!"

Himura chuckled. The look on the actors face was enough as he tried to suck down his drink. The actor desperately trying to wash the bitter taste from his pallette. Himura couldn't help but be amused by the entire scene.

"Himura! How could you ever eat these!" Kaito whined, pressing the back of his wrist to his forehead as he arched his back. The taste the mocha beans obviously taking the actor down. "Woah is me, Kazuki, what am I supposed to do? They're killing me!"

Himura couldn't hold back the laughter. He tried but the actor's performance was just too much for him to try and bottle up all this laughter. The actor continued his charade, letting out whines and whimpers off someone who might be dying. Soon, the other three people were giggling as well. Even quiet Niijima giggled away at the scene.

That's when the barista saw Hinata walk back into the room. He was rubbing the back of his neck, glancing around at the students before sitting off by himself in one of the corners. Himura gave it a moment, but the other teacher never came into the room. Was he… okay? Himura glanced around, the laughter of his friends suddenly becoming background noise as he pushed himself off the ground.

Before Himura even really comprehended what he was doing. Before it all really came together in his mind he folded his legs underneath him, sitting with the other teacher, looking over them closely. "Is everything okay?"

Hajime looked up, looking surprised that the student had strolled over to him. Hajime glanced around a few times, obviously looking a bit unsure. "What do you mean, Himura?"

Himura shrugged, one of his hands reaching up to run his shoulder. "Is Komaeda okay?"

Hajime paused, looking over Himura with careful eyes. First the teacher started to nod, but he slowly broke the facade, shaking his head and letting out a long, pained sigh. "Komaeda is getting worse every day. He hasn't said anything but I've noticed. Komaeda and I really need to get home."

The sentence seemed to make sense. Everyone here needed to get home. Maybe that's what made the sentence stand out to him. Why was that the teacher's first concern. Shouldn't he be more worried about getting Komaeda to a hospital or something on those lines? "Why home?"

Hajime paused. He only made brief eye contact before looking back down at his hands. Staring at them as if deciding what he should say next. There was a tense moment before anything was said. Hajime ran his fingers through his hair.

"Nagito and I have someone waiting at home for us… Nagito's getting worried… afraid what this game means. We're both worried but with his deteriorating health and the stress. I don't think he can handle much more of this."

Himura went to open his mouth, to comfort the teacher. To do anything that might be able to help him sort things through. But before he got the chance, a voice called out to him. Himura turned around just in time to see Kusonoki run over to them, a wide grin slipping onto her face.

"Himura! I am arranging a gathering after Luna's, I was wondering if you wished to attend?"

Himura paused for a moment, glancing at the teacher before looking back towards his friend. "Yeah Kusonoki. Where are we meeting?"

"Yes, I knew you would join the cause, Himura! We'll see you in the computer lab in an hour." With that, the investigator fled the scene, running over to another group of students to invite them to her cause.

Himura looked back to Hajime. They stared at each other for a moment. Himura had a lot of questions. What did he mean by, someone waiting at home for them? And why were they worried about the world around them? Was he afraid that there was another destroyed world outside of these doors. Himura felt his body tense up at the thought. He was too afraid to ask, the idea filling his body with fear, pumping it through him like some kind of machine. For a moment, he saw flashes. All the students were only born on the tail end of the tragedy but Himura remembered the after effects of it all. The fear he had to try and avoid every single day back then…

Himura stood up, clearing his throat as he tried to push the memories back further. He needed another cup of coffee, something to wash down the bitter taste rising in the back of his throat. "I hope Komaeda starts getting better."

With that final phrase, Himura left the room. He had to get ready for his late night hangout time with his friends. But the memories felt like re dashed wounds. Hope's Peak had always been his escape for them, and now… Himura was afraid that it might come back for him again.

* * *

Koba tugged on his jacket as quickly as possible. The pool party had simmered down, getting quiet as a lot of the students grew tired. Koba knew only a few students were going to the after party thing Kusonoki had arranged. One was Iris. He'd heard the gardener agree to go and if she was gonna go, Kobayashi wouldn't miss the chance to spend some time with her. As a bonus, he heard Sweeney decline the offer.

This get together was going to be even more radical than the beach!

Fumio combed through his hair, trying to dry it out as much as possible. He had to take a shower once he got back to his room to try to wash off the smell of chlorine. Even though the beach was, well a beach, guess it didn't change the fact the pool was still indoors. Another unusual fact was the sand. Koba had been coated in the stuff. Even his socks had been filled with it. But the second he left the room… it was all gone. Koba tried to remember how the sand felt in his toes but the memory was hard to recall. The past events were so blurry that it was hard to pull out such specific details.

Koba blow dried his hair quickly, the rooms luckily came with the devices. He carefully combed his freshly washed hair, getting it looking nice before tugging on his hat, his bangs instinctively popping out of the back hole. Tugging on his shoes and scooping up his skateboard, Koba headed up towards the Computer Lab to meet with his friends.

When he was on the third floor, Koba paused. He couldn't remember which way the computer lab was. He tried to comb through his brain for the details as he glanced between the two veering paths. Silently he cursed his shoddy memory. He'd just helped explore the floors a few days ago, how had he already forgot where the room was?

Sighing, Koba guessed, taking the direction to the left. After walking around for a bit, he realized he must have went the wrong way. Sighing, he went to turn around, only to see someone just around the corner. Koba jogged ahead, just enough to see Niijima and Sugai standing outside of the Computer Lab.

Koba jogged up to them, pausing as he looked towards the other way. He could see the stairs from where he currently stood.

"Why did you come from that way, Koba?" Niijima asked, her headphones back over her ears as she spoke. Koba could hear the him of them. Could she even hear through those things?

"I forgot which way the room was!" Koba admitted, glad that it was these too. They seemed a lot more lenient to his poor decisions. "I didn't know the rooms loop all the way around."

"You mean you forgot." Sugai corrected, raising up one of his meaty fingers to correct his fellow student. "We were with you when we discovered that. You tried to ride your skateboard all the way around. Don't you remember?"

Koba stared at them for a moment, trying to remember but it was blank. He could vaguely remember suggesting a thing and throwing down his board. But the specifics weren't there. Just a vague recollection of events. "Yeah, I think I remember that."

"You need to pay attention more." Sugai recommended, waving his finger as if Koba was some kind of child. "Knowledge is one of the biggest keys to success. That and confidence."

"Are you ready to see what Kusonoki has planned?" Niijima asked, breaking the large man out of his own personal bubble. Probably preventing some long speech.

"Shouldn't we wait for everyone else?" Koba asked, looking around to try and catch a glimpse of anyone else.

"Don't be stupid! Everyone's already inside!" Sugai shouted, his hands gripping onto his hips.

Niijima nodded. "We came out to make sure no one was waiting outside."

Koba nods before reaching for the door. "alright! Let's go!"

Koba tugged the door open and instantly felt his soul leave his body. On the ground was a ring of candles, the only light source in the entire room. On the ground, some form of pentagram was painted onto the floor. But what caught Kobayashi's eyes in the low orange glow of the room was a Ouija board. Tossed down onto the floor in between the group.

"W-What the hell is that?" Sugai squawked from behind Kobayashi, the booming voice almost destroying the smaller kid's eardrums.

"Kusonoki wishes to ask the spirits trapped in this hellish prison for help." Gundam sat next to Kusonoki, the two of them sitting at the head of the circle.

"I discovered this Spirit board yesterday. If we all unite, we can conjure up a soul of the departed and request their assistance." Kusonoki explained, the eye of the board cupped in her lap.

"This seems a little extra." Niijima said as she squatted down next to her paranormal friend. "But it also sounds fun. Maybe I can get some cool noises for my next mixtape."

Sugai sat down next to the DJ, plopping down and taking a deep breath, though the Motivational Speaker still seemed pretty sheepish about the idea. Koba took a moment to look around the room. It seemed only half of the students actually showed up for this. Figures, most of them were probably tired from all the swimming earlier. Himura was here as well, the Barista was tucked into the spot next to Sugai. He looked relaxed, his face hovering over a steaming cup of coffee. It also looked like Gundam was the only teacher present. Figures the Lord of Darkness would be the only one interested in messing with this kind of stuff. Then next to him was- Wait!

"Where's Iris?" Koba shouted suddenly, looking around the group desperately. She was supposed to come, why wasn't she here.

"Unfortunately, Carol had a stomach ache and had to bail." Sweeney spoke up from beside Gundam. He looked so… sure of himself. "Said she was just going to go to bed for the night."

Koba sighed, sitting down on the opposite side of Kusonoki, leaving Himura on his left and Sweeney on his right. The scientist tried not to pout at the situation. He enjoyed spending time with friends, but why did Sweeney have to come? The guy had it out for him and Kobayashi really didn't understand why.

"Anyways, let us begin." Kusonoki said, raising her ghastly hands above the board as she put the oracle onto the board. "Everyone, join your hands together onto the piece. With our combined energy we can summon a wayward soul to this vary room."

Everyone leaned forward, placing their hands onto the small piece. Koba made a mental note of it being made of plastic. Real spooky stuff.

"I don't understand why this is necessary?" Sugai protested as he put his thick hands onto the piece, only able to fit the very tips of his fingers.

"Isn't it obvious!" Gundam raised a hand to shield his face, casting a dark shadow over his face. "Using such dark forces can open new paths to you mortals!"

"Just don't question it." Himura said softly as he set his coffee cup down to put his hands on the oracle. He kept his voice low enough so that only the people around him could hear his advice. "It helps her cope with what is going on. Just play along and you'll make her feel better.

Together, they all had their hands on the oracle. Slowly Kusonoki took the lead, making it move in a figure 8 across the board. "Oh Spirits! Those from the dark shadows of these halls. Please lend us a moment. Guide us in these troubling times! Grant us your knowledge!"

Kusonoki stopped the oracle into the center of the board, her eyes closed in the dull candle light. The candles seemed to bounce off of everyone, sending a very dull light around the room. Everyone followed the spirit hunter's moves. They all waited in silence. Koba felt a chill run up his back in the silence before the investigator spoke.

"Is there anyone here with us?"

Another moment of silence followed. Kobayashi peaked and looked around the room, seeing everyone wait in silence. He was surprised Sweeney wasn't questioning the girl. Usually the tattoo artist was probing at people for being idiots. But now he was being quiet. Why was he being nice no-"

Suddenly the board shifted. Everyone's eyes jolted open, glancing around each other as it moved.

"Hay shit head, are you doing this?" Sweeney barked, his words obviously pointed in Koba's direction.

"Nah! Only someone like you would do something as shitty as that!" Koba shot back, glaring over at the artist before looking back to the board.

"Hey.. would you look at that," Niijima started, her voice still barely at a whisper, "we got one."

"Oh Spirit, we ask for your help. What is your name?" Kusonoki questioned next, her eyes carefully watching the board.

Koba felt the oracle move again. The center quickly grabbing words. He tried to put the letters together but it was hard. The ghost was going so fast and it was hard to remember all of the letters. Plus putting them all in the right order was almost impossible. He saw an _I_ at the start. Then eventually a _A_.

"I'm not allowed." Niijima said as she looked over to Kusonoki. "Why wouldn't they be allowed to tell us? Who would stop them?"

"Do you think Monokuma can hurt even ghosts?" Sugai whimpered, fear wavering in his eyes.

"Don't be stupid." Sweeney growled from his spot. "How could he control someone who's already dead."

"Do you know who is controlling Monokuma?" Kusonoki asked, shifting in her seat as she moved the oracle back into the center.

A moment after it reached the center again, it went through the 8 pattern again. Zipping across the board before it suddenly stopped on yes. Koba prefered the yes and no answers, they were a lot easier for him to follow.

Everyone looked shocked for a moment, even Tanaka seemed like he was a little surprised by the response. Kusonoki cleared her throat before winding the board up again. She took a deep breath, the excitement obviously getting to her. "Can you tell us who they are?"

The board shoved itself to the no answer again. What a stubborn ghost. Koba didn't get it. Why wouldn't the ghost tell them what they needed to know? Was it really that dangerous? The only thing that really made sense to Koba was that someone was cheating. Someone here had to be pushing the board. Next question, he was going to watch everyone's hands. Then maybe he could figure out who the cheater was.

"Do you know how we can get out…?" Koba looked up at that question. This time it wasn't from Kusonoki. Koba saw Sweeney shift in his seat, looking uncomfortable after the question crossed his lips.

The oracle jolted suddenly. Koba had to look down quickly in order to see it. It didn't look like anyone was pushing it. The way it moved so quickly, something had to show up if someone was tampering with it, right? Yet everyone's hands look relaxed as it jolted around the board. Before he could really get a good look, it stopped.

"You have to wait." Kusonoki took her hands of the oracle. Her hands moving to slowly sit in her lap. Kobayashi watched as everyone pulled their hands away from the board. Distress washed over all their faces. A hopeless, empty look filling every part of their faces as they looked down at the board.

"This is stupid!" Sweeney stood to his feet, glaring down at the board with rage. "Why should we wait! Whoever is fucking with this damn board, fuck you! This isn't a game it's real li-"

Suddenly a gust took out the candles. Darkness spread over the room. Screams filled the air, covering everyone in panic. Koba's eyes darted around the dark, trying to find anything to guide him through the sudden blackness. That was when he heard it. A small, electrical buzz. Right then, one of the computer screens popped on. Black at first, but still filled with light.

"You need to wait… Because…"

The words plastered onto the screen in bright, pink letters. They blinked in the darkness, showing everyone in the room their own light. They left after a few more seconds. The next message slowly working it's way onto the screen. Koba could feel a gasp escape his mouth, just a soft gasp of air that he couldn't hold in.

"Help Is On The Way."

The words were only there for a second but they were present enough to burn themselves into the back of Koba's brain. Keeping the promise close in the back of his mind as the computers suddenly shut off. The lights switched back on and revealed the entire group, all standing on their feet, staring in shock and awe at the sight infront of them. The message was short but it made it's impression.

"What the hell was that!"

The voice was unmistakable. They all looked down, making direct contact with the bear that now stood near the ground, the Spirit board now in his tight, little arms. Sugai let out a belting scream, jumping back further from the monster in the middle of the room.

"Don't you know how late it is!" Monokuma yelled from his spot on the floor, waving his fist at everyone before glaring specifically at Tanaka. He waved his hand at him, almost like a parent scolding a child. "It's bedtime for you! Get up to your room! The bell rings in five minutes! Don't want to die, do ya?"

Gundam huffed, obviously not agreeing but he didn't have much of a choice at this point. With one final look, Tanaka turned and left the room. Koba silently hoped the teacher made it to his room before the night alarm went off.

"Now for the rest of you," Monokuma started, glaring over all the students in the room. "Turns out this room is no longer safe at night! You're not allowed here anymore after the Nighttime announcement."

"Why…?" Kusonoki asked, tucking her hands in front of her body as she looked down at the bear. "Why can't we come in here at night?"

"Because you've gone and made this room haunted, you idiot! I would have thought an expert with ghosts would know not to mess with one of these! Especially one that belongs to me!" Monokuma continued to argue, waving his hands around in the air.

"How were we supposed to know it belongs to you?" Sugai asked, the big guy was shaking by this point.

Monokuma flipped the board to the back for a second. Just long enough to show the picture of his face stamped on the back. Then he tucked it under his arm. "Now everyone out!"

Slowly the group left the room. Unsure of what had just happened to them. Koba watched as, in silence, they all headed back to their rooms. All except Himura. The barista hung near the back of the group, obviously thinking something over. Did the barista know something they didn't. Was it possible that he'd actually picked up important information from that horror show? Either way, Koba was done for the night. He crammed his hands into his pocket. His thumbs gliding over the candies left in his pocket. He was looking for it.. just touching it made him feel comforted when he was scared.

Koba suddenly stopped, digging through his pockets as he tried to locate it. But the only thing there were candies. Koba felt himself start to panic. He must have dropped it somewhere. But it wasn't safe to walk around after nighttime. He would have to wait until morning to try and find it. With a long, drawn out sigh, Koba tried to accept it. The fact that he'd lost the last photo weighed heavy on him as he made his way back to his room.


	11. Everyone Needs Motivation

Komaeda was quietly sipping on a cold glass of water as Hajime sat next to him. The other man was forcing him to take care of himself, which seemed like a waste. He doubted a cold glass of water would fix all of his health issues in one go.

Soon Souda and Tanaka joined them, the teachers obviously waiting for the nighttime ban to be lifted and allow them to head back downstairs. Souda had been pretty scarce the past few days, and now Komaeda could see why. The mechanic was hunched over some pile of parts, working on putting it all together from the scraps he'd found around the school. It resembled the one back from their island life a bit… except there wasn't a screen too it. Guess there wasn't really any spare tvs laying around.

The other teacher was feeding veggies to his hamsters. The cute, little rodents happily nibbling on their treats as their master watched over them. The hamsters crawling out of his scarf and down to the treats laid out for them. At least this morning seemed peaceful enough.

"I believe there's some things we need to discuss." Makoto said as he sat down with the other teachers in the lounge. The small headmaster looked over everyone with a determined look.

"The communicator is almost done, I just have to make sure they sync up with each other." Souda mumbled, half to himself as he fidgeted more with the machine.

"Oh, that's good news." Makoto said, a slight smile crossing his face, though it slowly melted away as he looked over everyone again. "But I want to talk about the differences of this game and the others."

"Like what?" Hajime asked.

"Do you mean how there wasn't a serial killer in the second case?" Komaeda knew exactly where Makoto was taking this. "And they haven't mentioned anything about a traitor."

"I don't think he'll mention a traitor until the group is vulnerable. Right now I'm more worried about the third trial coming up… the usual Double murder." Naegi explained, rubbing the back of his neck with a sigh. "That's how he's always done it… to turn everyone against each other."

"Fear brings mortals to do preposterous things." Gundam stated as he used the back of one of his hands to pet one of the hamsters.

"Look who's talking." Souda said, not even looking up from his machine. "You killed someone during our game."

"How dare you! Nekomaru and I fought a just battle!" Gundam shot back, glaring over at the pink haired mechanic.

"Fair? How was it fair? If Nidai didn't have that stupid button you would have lost! You only one because you used your filthy hamsters to _cheat!_ " Right after Souda finished his sentence, the machine beeped. Souda stood to his feet, scooping it up as he spoke quickly to Makoto. "They're done. You can do the test tonight."

Makoto swallowed, nodding as Souda went back to his room. Komaeda sighed internally. The last thing they needed was the teachers fighting as well. If they couldn't show that they could work together, who could?

"I- That- I cannot fathom how a pathetic creature like him thinks-"

"Gundam, it's okay. We know you had to do it. Don't let him get to you. He didn't mean it like that." Hajime intervened, reaching out to pat his friends shoulder.

Komaeda couldn't help but think about how Hajime always seemed to have this under control. Even during the island game, he was a beacon of hope for everyone, even though he hadn't been a talented student like everyone else. Everyone had trusted him and put their faith on his shoulders. Even now, it seemed like this still holds.

"Everyone's just stressed… we can talk about it later. It's almost 7." Makoto said next, glancing over the three other teachers just as the morning announcement went off.

" _Gooooood Morning everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and Nighttime is officially over! Time to Rise and Shiiiiiine! Get ready to greet another Beauuuutiful day! "_

"We can't keep them waiting," Komaeda said as he stood up. "Monokuma will most likely announce the next motive today."

* * *

Koba scooped another spoonful of eggs and rice in his mouth as he looked over the table. He'd gotten there a bit earlier than normal. Just a little bit before the morning announcement actually went off. Bellerose had already been in the Kitchen, sorting things through when Koba had come in to try and find something to munch on. Bellerose had been nice enough to make him breakfast.

Now, he quickly shoved it in his mouth. His mouth sparking up with all the flavors she had loaded into them. He'd never had eggs that were so flavorful. The omurice was flavored to perfection and Koba couldn't stop himself from wolfing down the food in front of him.

Bellerose sat across from the skater, sipping on a cup of coffee as she took small bites of her own omurice. She paused though, staring at the scene that was unfolding with disgust. "Are you even tasting that?"

"Yeah! It's delicious!" Koba talked through a full mouth,spitting out a few pieces as he talked.

"You're gross." Bellerose growled as she rolled her eyes, sipping at her cup of coffee as she tried to ignore Koba. With a sigh, she pulled a magazine out of her back pocket and started to read it. Her eyes slowly scanning over the pages.

Koba swallowed the last bite. Staring at the plate for a moment before looking back up at didn't want to be a bother but… he could really use some more food.

"Are you still hungry?" Bellerose suddenly asked, not looking up from her magazine.

"Y-Yeah... " Koba admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm still pretty hungry."

"That's only because you ate so fast." Bellerose said, taking another sip of her coffee without looking over at the boy. "You probably get sick a lot after you eat, don't you?"

"Y-Yeah, sometimes." Koba admitted, worried this would just turn into an everyone roasts Koba show. But then, she stood up from her chair, setting down the magazine and coffee as she went back towards the kitchen.

"I'll make you more. I'll try to keep an eye out so you don't eat yourself to death." Bellerose explained before she disappeared into the kitchen. Koba's eyes darted around for a few moments, unsure of what to do while he waited. He looked over at Bellerose's magazine. It was some kind of movie magazine. The cover talked about some major motion picture coming out soon. Koba leaned over, wondering how old the magazine was.

After a few moments, Bellerose came back, another plate in her hands. It had a smaller omurice on it, only half the size of the ones she made last time. The other half of the plate was covered in sliced fruits and veggies. She handed him the plate as she sat back down in her chair. Scooping the magazine back up as she settled down in her chair.

Koba went to start eating at the omurice again, avoiding all of the healthy stuff she had packed onto the other half of the plate. He groaned at the idea. Vegetables were so gross and not something he ever wanted to associate with. He looked up at the chef as she skimmed through her magazine again. "Why did you put all this other stuff on here?"

"Because I only see you eat junk. You horde candy in your room and never eat anything healthy. You're going to get sick if you keep eating like that and I will **not** let someone get sick from lack of nutrition under my watch." Bellerose said her monotonous voice, eyes still not leaving the contents of her magazine.

Koba paused, looking over at the other food before slowly digging into it. He tried to dive into the worst first. Spearing a piece of broccoli on the end of his fork. The tender veggie went on pretty easily. Koba slipped it into his mouth, nervously chewing on it. But soon he was surprised at how tolerable it was! Almost even enjoyable. Well, Almost, it was still a vegetable. "That's not too bad." Koba said, moving over from the main course and over to the sides provided by the chef.

"Not bad? Don't fuck with me, Koba. Those are the best damn vegetables you've ever had. "

"... That's true." Koba said as he scooped more food into his mouth. Pausing to look at the other student for a drawn out moment. He appreciated how stern her face was. It was blank almost cold with her paler skin and jet black hair. Her eyes like spears as they pierced through her book. "Do… Since you got here, do you ever have nightmares?"

Bellerose looked at him from the corner of her eye for a moment. Koba could feel all the hair stand up on the back of his neck. Maybe he shouldn't have asked her that question. But he didn't have time to think about it, the words just coming out. Koba watched as the yellow darts turned back to the book before her lips actually started to move. "That depends. What kind of nightmares?"

"I-I don't know…" Koba tried to retract his question. Suddenly the desire to talk about it was gone. He wanted to crawl back into his hole. "Like sick tricks, That ya too good ta live, yo!"

"I thought I told you to stop fucking with me, Kobayashi?" Bellerose slowly closed her magazine. She gently set it down in the table, Koba watched her rough hands slowly set it down against the table. Koba was startled when he looked back up, staring directly into her eyes. They were focused on him, intent on whatever was about to escape her lips. "So how about you don't waste my time, okay?"

"O-Okay." Koba felt his mouth go dry, unsure if he wanted to continue. "Since we got here, I've had vivid nightmares of -"

"Koba!" The gardener's voice broke through his sentence, gearing both of their gazes in her direction. "There you are! I've been looking for you!"

"F-Fo me? Really?" Koba blurted, the past subject vanishing the second he saw the gardener heading towards him. Behind her came even more of the remaining class, though they were way out of Koba's attention at this point. His vision completely focused on the gardener.

Iris nodded, her eyes intent on the sk8r for a long moment. Koba couldn't help but stare deep into her blue eyes. She was such an unbelievable sweetheart. He couldn't even feel the goofy smile that wound over his lips as she placed a hand onto his shoulder.

"I wanted to know if you'd show me how to skateboard!" Iris said, a smile spreading over her sweet face as she looked Koba over.

Koba swallowed hard, surprised she would ever ask him such a thing. A giant, giddy feeling washed over him. He closed his eyes before nodding vigorously. "Of course!" Koba almost shouted at the girl, his eyes wide. "I'd love to teach you how to sk8!"

Iris smiled and nodded. Koba smiled as he sat back down in his chair, offering Iris the one next to him. She paused, nodding before slowly moving into the chair. Koba went back to dig into his breakfast, taking note that Bellerose was on her feet again, ready to head into the kitchen to get to work on the rest of breakfast.

"Could I get some help this morning?" She asked. Her voice flat as she looked over the group. It wasn't a surprise when the racer quickly climbed to the front of the group. Bellerose sighed, watching as the red head seemed to bounce excitedly, waiting for the other woman to drop a command. Bellerose rolled her eyes before waving Sato to follow her. "Fine, I can probably make this work. It's better than nothing."

The two disappeared into the kitchen, soon followed by the sound of plates. Koba went back to spooning his food into his face when Kusonoki and Niijima walked up to the table. The two girls holding each other's hands as they both sat in the seat across from Koba. The scientist smiled up from his breakfast but it seemed like the two weren't really interested in him.

"I hope whatever ailed you has passed, Iris." Kusonoki said, her tired eyes staring over at the gardener.

"It would be a shame if you got sick." Whispered Niijima, her voice almost a whisper. Koba wondered how she could be so quiet with those headphones on, he could hear the buzz of the music from where he sat at the table.

"I'm fine now." Iris said, gently rubbing her hands together. Koba paused mid bite, taking note at the odd gesture. One of her hands were shaking slightly as she went to run her fingers through her hair, scooping some of her bangs out of her face.

"Are you sure?" Koba asked, taking notice of the tension in the other girl's actions. He hoped she was okay. He didn't want her to be forcing herself.

"I said I'm okay." Iris insisted, her voice slowly firming as she spoke. She glanced around, rubbing the back of her neck. "I...I just want to eat my breakfast."

Koba went to open his mouth but he was cut off, watching as Bellerose and Sato exited the kitchen, the two of them balancing plates on their shoulders as they reentered the room. The chef entered with grace, holding the trays with care as she made her way around the table, setting down plates in front of a few people. Sato looked like she might drop them at any moment as the girl seemed to pinpoint the other girls in the group. Setting down a plate right in front of Kusonoki and Niijima, winking at both of them. She paused at Iris, giving a weak smile. "I think Bellerose has got yours. She kept ahold of all the specially made ones. Sorry I don't have it."

"It's okay." Iris said faintly, moving to rub her hands together as she glanced around. "Mines just special because I don't eat meat."

Sato continued to talk to the gardener, obviously flirting with the blond girl. But Koba was distracted by something in the distance for a moment. Bellerose was leaned over Kaito's shoulder, her hand gently squeezing it for a moment as she gave a slight chuckle. Himura was next to the actor, sipping on a coffee in silence as the scene unfolded.

Koba was even more surprised to see Kaito let off a slight smile as he removed her hand from his shoulder. The chef look surprised but sighed, telling them both to enjoy their meals before setting a plate down in front of Himura and scooting off to the next person.

"Well, I'll see you later, babe." Sato said, risking a finger gun at Iris, causing the tray to wobble and almost fall again. If Sato wasn't careful it might-

Suddenly Iris giggled, causing the racer to trip over her own feet. The tray went, falling for a moment. It was like time slowed down, the racer tried to scramble to catch it, to fix her mistake. Then, suddenly in a flash, a chair flew out from the table, the tray was stopped mid air, it's decent prevented by a quick hand.

The actor had burst from his seat, catching the tray in his hand, preventing the treasure from being spoiled. A moment after he caught the racer, his other arm gracefully catching the startled red head.

"Kaito, you're my hero." Bellerose said, a bit more excited as she ran forward. Koba watched the racer's face go from startled to annoyed in a seconds notice. "How can I ever repay you?"

Kaito blinked, looking confused for a moment as he looked the chef over. Then he let out a long, snobbish laugh. Handing the tray over to Bellerose as he pushed Sato back to her feet. "Don't get ahead of yourself, darling, I didn't do this for you."

"What?" Bellerose suddenly looked irritated, as if the remark really put a chip on her shoulder.

Kaito smirked as he pulled out a rose, holding it as he tossed out the baby doll eyes. "If Sato had fallen, the eggs would have fallen all over Himura and I. That was not something i could let happen! The stains would never come out of my clothes."

"Right…" Bellerose mumbles as she went and finished handing out breakfast. Rolling her eyes as the actor slipped back into his seat.

Koba took note of the teachers as they made their way inside the room. Greeting all of the students before taking their own seat at the designated round table. Except for Souda, the pink haired teacher followed behind the group, coming in last before sliding into a seat next to Sato and Sugai. Koba also took note of Komaeda as the white haired teacher looked paler than normal. Koba swallowed hard as he noticed how weak the teacher was as he leaned against the other. Koba had to force himself to look away as he went back to his breakfast.

Everyone was eating, taking amongst themselves as they enjoyed their breakfast. Kusonoki and Niijima were discussing ways to record sound and some strange things they'd encountered while they were working. Iris slowly ate her food, she seemed fairly distracted as she did so. Koba was about to engage in conversation when suddenly a loud scream filled the air.

Everyone's head whipped to the source of the sound, even more people jumping from their seats and taking steps back from the table. The actor was the one to scream, looking frightened as he covered his face with his forearm, looking as if he might pass out. The cause? Well, Koba would have screamed too if the robotic bear had climbed up in front of him on the table. Monokuma stood there, looking fairly pleased with himself as he crossed his stubby little arms over his chest.

"Well that's a weird way to greet someone!" He laughed right after, covering his mouth with his paw as he looked everyone over. "A scream of excitement must have meant you guys really missed me!"

"It was a scream of fear you ignorant baboon." Kaito retorted, still looking flabbergasted by the earlier startle.

"What the hell do you want?" Sweeney growled, leaning into the table a bit, as if the gesture would make the small tattoo artist intimidating.

"Well I wanted to let everyone know to quickly finish their breakfast and head to the gym." Monokuma started, putting his hands on his cheeks as he got a big grin. "It's Beary important that everyone comes."

Before anyone could really retort, the bear left, disappearing into the ground as he vanished from sight. Maybe if this hadn't been such a dire situation Koba would have laughed at the pun. Kobayashi had always been a fan of puns. But now, everyone was distressed, slowly most of them stood up, glancing around to see who else was ready to go. Most of them still had food on their plates.

"Where are you going?" Bellerose questioned, looking over the few who were now on their feet. "He said _after_ breakfast. You can eat first."

"I've lost my appetite…" Sugai whimpered as he pushed his plate to the center of the table.

"Me too." Iris said softly next to Koba, pushing her plate into the center before she went to join the others at the door.

Soon everyone had left except Koba, Bellerose, and Luna. Bellerose looked even more angry than usual, crossing her arms. "That awful vermin ruined my breakfast! What a waste of food! Pathetic little rat!" She growled, enraged as she left the room.

Luna chuckled as she scooped what had been Kaito's dish off the table. "More for me then. Did you know she always makes Kaito's the tastiest? He eats so slow though and I don't want her work to go to waste."

Koba looked over the plate to see only a fourth of it was gone. Koba couldn't help but notice Himura's entire breakfast was gone. Guess one of them really did eat faster than the other.

Fumio followed Luna to the gym. He tried to keep his arms from trembling but it… this was all so terrifying. He swallowed hard, wondering how the seamstress could remain so calm in a situation like this. Most likely this announcement would cause the death of another one of their classmates. Something the ursine devil said to them today would send them all into panic once again. Then… someone would die again.

Once inside the gym, Monokuma grumbled, looking at the two as if they'd been hours late. He shook his head, his high voice shaming them for not coming sooner. "Too busy stuffing your holes, huh? But with what I wonder."

Koba was confused by the remark. They were just late from breakfast. So wouldn't the obvious answer be food? What other holes could they be stuffing? And what would they be stuffing those holes with. Even though the scientist didn't get it, Luna chuckled next to him, taking another bite of her stolen food as she seemed pretty amused.

Monokuma almost seemed mad about it, maybe it was because he didn't hurt anyone's feelings, just made one of them laugh and the other confused. "I didn't know you two were a pervert and a virgin."

"I don't get it…" Koba mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked over at Luna. Hoping she would explain as the bear seemed to move on. "Why would he call either of us that?"

"Well, I kinda am a pervert." Luna started as she scooped another mouthful of the food into her face. "And you didn't get the innuendo so he called you a virgin."

"What's an innuendo?" Koba asked next, only causing Luna to burst into laughter. "Are you serious? Good gracious you are a virgin."

"W-what? I-I-I am n-not!" Koba retorted, more embarrassed than confused now.

"Oh don't get upset about it. There's no shame in it." Luna said, her voice was obviously trying to comfort her but Koba's face was already a deep red as he turned away and pouted to himself.

"I have two announcements for you all today! One being what you've all been waiting for, the next motive! But first i want to get something off my chest. The guilt has been weighing me down since day one. Something I really need to tell you guys." It was disgusting to watch the bear try and act distraught, as if the thing ever really felt any kind of guilt. Koba couldn't help but notice the teachers tense up in the corner. Looked as if they knew exactly what was going on. "There's a traitor in your ranks! This game is no different than the others, I could never pull off a game this big all by my wittle self."

"Are you really going to pull that again?" Komaeda took a step forward, crossing his arms as he looked fairly skeptical. "You've done this twice. Both times the traitor wasn't any harm to us."

"That's right!" Naegi stepped up next, a tormented look covered his face as some kind of memory washed over him. "Y-You tricked Ogami and labeled her as a traitor! I-It got her killed!"

Monokuma paused for a moment, staring at the two with those empty, soulless eyes. Just… staring at them. Then he let out a loud laugh. "Maybe this time it's different! But there's more details. We didn't erase one of your memories!"

"W-wait what?" Kusonoki choked out. "That's impossible! All of us said our memories were wiped!"

"That's right!" Sugai objected, his voice carrying over the group. "Why would amy of our friends lie to us?"

"Dunno and don't really care." Monokuma stated as he jumped off the stage. Pulling out a bunch of envelopes as he looked over the group. "Now, onto the motive."

Everyone watched as he handed out the fards, the entire room taking them with shaky hands. Everyone seemed really nervous. Well, except for Luna, who set the plate on the gym floor before taking the envelope from the bear. Monokuma paused, pointing to the plate. "You're not supposed to have food in the gym!"

"Sorry, I didn't know." Was her only response as she went to work at the envelope. Koba wished he could that kind of confidence as the bear walked over and handed the note to Koba.

"Don't wet yourself yet, Fumio. You haven't even read it yet." Monokuma snickered as he walked back to the center of the room. Taking a moment to look at the class aa a whole before speaking. "Inside these envelopes are your greatest fears. Secrets that none of you never want any of your friends to know about. You were all becoming such good friends too, I can't wait to see how this rips that all to shreds! PUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHU!"

Koba swallowed as he slowly tore open his envelope. He didn't have any secrets. None that he'd consider killing for. He lived a sheltered life in a suburban area with his family. A white picket fence, two floors, a loving mother and a caring father. And his brother always took such good care of him. As Koba pulled out the folded piece of paper, he wondered what could possibly be written on here.

 _You killed your own brother_

Koba felt his hands shake as his world melted. He-he did what? Did this happen during the years he couldn't remember? Kobayashi felt like the breath was sucked from his lungs. _I did kill my brother._

Suddenly it seemed like the breath was stolen from his body. He was choking, dying at this very moment as he tried to swallow down this secret. It wasn't something he'd kill for… no, he'd never do something so horrendous. Koba looked up just in time to see the other students shaking. Except Luna, who was giggling at her own secret.

"So, have fun deciding who to kill next you i-" Monokuma was cut off halfway through his mockery, looking startled as the barista took a step forward.

"This has to be a j-joke! Th-there's know way you could- I- THERE'S NO WAY YOU CO-" Himura shouted, his hands shaking as he clenched the note tight in his fist.

"Stop your crying!" Monokuma growled as he jumped off the stage. "You all have two days to kill one of your friends, otherwise your secrets will be released to the world. Have a fantastic day!" And when he was done he sank back down into one of his hiding holes.

Immediately after that, Naegi took a step forward. The headmaster obviously took in the students fears. He looked around, panicked at what the students next reaction might be. "Everyone, it's going to he okay! He can't have power over us if we don't have secrets for him to leak! Kazuki Himura, how about you start."

Himura looked up and Koba could barely see it. The look in his eyes, the indescribable emotion that spun around in them. More than distress, more than anger, more than sadness. His hands were shaking as he brought his note up to his face. His eyes glancing down as if he was about to read. But in one swift motion.

 _Riiiiiiip! Riiip!_

Himura aggressively ripped up his note, tearing it into shreds so small it could never be reassembled. It was in a flash of this unchecked emotion. He then tossed it in his coffee cup, swirling it around before tossing his head back and chugging it down. Then quickly stormed out of the room. Leaving without saying another word.

There was a pause. Silence was let in his wake. Koba could feel the panic rise up into the room like a toxic gas. Soon everyone would suffocate on it if something wasn't done.

"I'll go check on him, he's safe in my hands Makoto." Kaito spoke up, raising his hand before strolling out of the room after the barista.

"Well that was the most extra exit I've ever seen." Luna remarked with a chuckle as she took a few steps forward. "I'll go first. My secret is that I have a crush on one of the teachers at the school. Not anyone here. Just that big, muscular stud Nekomaru. Don't know why he thought that was a secret, let alone one I'd kill for… so, who's next?"

There was a long silence, as if no one was sure. Maybe the poison had already taken ahold of everyone. Maybe it was too late to save everyone, maybe -

"My secret is that I really don't like country music. It's too slow and doesn't have a good beat to it. Plus it's always about tractors and stuff." Niijima spoke next, her voice as gentle as ever.

"Mine is that I wet the bed until I was 15." Eguchi spoke next, her face flat as she described it. "Though the 15th time was a very rare occasion."

"Me next!" Sugai said, raising his hand as he jumped up and down. "My secret is that I have no self confidence or motivation in myself! But that's okay because as long as I can give it to people who really need it."

"... Mine is that my dad used to… beat me." Sweeney looked less eager to speak but considering what happened last time, speaking up was probably a good idea. He did get blamed for not sharing. It was a heavier secret than the rest and now that it was shared, at least it couldn't be used as a weapon. Koba took note of how the tattoo artist seemed to hug himself a bit after his confession. Lucking someone took the focus off of him fairly quickly.

"My secret is pretty boring." Bellerose said as she shoved it in her pocket. "But since not sharing will put a target on me next murder, I'm gonna fess up. I learned how to be a chef because back in the tragedy days I had to learn to make do with what I was given. If I wanted to eat I had to figure out how to use the supplies given to me."

She may have said it was boring but… that seemed pretty interesting to Koba. Learning to use everything the hard way sounded like a journey. Not an easy path but a rough one that makes travel later on extraordinary.

"Well mines just… more personal…" Sato said, rubbing her arm as she glanced around everyone. The first time the racer hadn't been completely outspoken about her thoughts. "I-I can't say it allowed but… if you have the spare time, I think I could tell Souda-Sensei."

Souda paused, looking surprised before nodding. "Y-Yeah, sure. Of course! Whenever you're ready."

There was a moment of silence. Almost as if no one else wanted to go. Koba tried to think of all who was left. Kusonoki still hadn't gone. Then then there was Iris, who still looked pretty nervous. Koba decided to spare them the pain of going next. Besides, hearing everyone speak up like that made Koba a little less scared to do so.

"I killed my brother." Koba said, not really comprehending how horrible that sounded until the words jumped out of his mouth. Didn't help he didn't sound too worried about it, either.

The room dropped dead silent. Everyone turned on Koba, watching him in silence. Fear filled a lot of their faces. Kusonoki swallowed hard before she left the room. Her departure inspired others to follow. Eguchi and Niijima followed next. It was like the dam was broken and everything that was keeping these people together had broken down and cast away in the stream. Sugai, Sato, and Sweeney left next. Sugai glanced at Koba, a face full of fear as he left the room. Then Sweeney tossed a look his way, rolling his eyes and just leaving with the others. Bellerose seemed uninterested in the whole thing. She gave Koba a slight shrug before she left.

When almost everyone was gone, Koba felt a hand on his shoulder. Komaeda and Naegi had closed in on him. The two didn't seem so skeptical of the remark as all of his friends had. Though… maybe calling any of them _his_ friends was a stretch.

"I'm glad you had the courage to share that with us." Naegi said as he gently squeezed Koba's shoulder.

"I-I can explain! I-I" Koba scurried to try and put his thoughts together. It wasn't as simple and straightforward as that sentence made it sound. No, it was a lot more complex than that.

"Hush, Koba." Komaeda said as he raised a hand near his face.

"You don't have to explain. I- They had this same motive back when I was forced into this game… One of my friends killed to keep his secret… that during a moment of stupidity he accidentally caused the death of his brother… If he had just told us, like you did today, these secret wouldn't have weighed down on him… he… he wouldn't have made the horrible mistake he made." There was a lot of feeling in Makoto's story. It sounded painful to remember but as if the memory was constantly in his train of thought. Maybe it was better that Koba had shared.

"What now…?" Koba asked, looking to the teachers for advice.

"Now we wait." Komaeda said, stepping back to let a smile cross his lips. "Wait for the next moment of despair that will help you all rise to the highest peaks of hope!"

The teacher let out a sickly laugh as he seemed proud of his comment. Koba felt a rock form in his throat at the scene. He had to take a step away from the teachers creepy laughter as Hajime quickly ran up to the other, putting his hand on his shoulder and pulling him out of the room. Calling out some form of apology on his way out.

Makoto sighed and rubbed his neck. Looking uncomfortable for a moment before looking back to Koba. "If you need anything, Let me know Kobayashi. I'm gonna go check on Himura… make sure Kaito found him."

"Yes sir." Koba said, still unsure of what to do next. "Also… it's just Koba, bro."

Naegi looked confused as he went to leave. But then he shrugged as he scratched the back of his head giving a slightly embarrassed smile. "My bad, Koba."

When the teachers were gonna, Iris walked up to Koba, her eyes on the floor for a little while before she got up to the skater. She smiled a little when she got up to him. "You know what would be fun? You could teach me some cool tricks now!"

Koba blushed, rubbing his nose as he glanced around. "Y-Yeah. Yeah that sounds like fun."

"Mind if I tag along?" Luna questioned, a smile slipping over her face. "Watching you skate is the best thing around here."

Koba had never been so flattered. Bouncing right back into step as he started to bounce. "Sure! I am the best sk8r around 'ere. Let's get rollin' crew!"

* * *

When Himura left, he wasn't sure where to go. The walls seemed nonexistent as the entire world spun around him. He tripped, falling into the wall as he let out a ragged breath.

 _Must escape._

He had to get away. He couldn't look anyone in the eyes after that scene he'd just created. But what else was he supposed to do, that secret… that note was something he couldn't let anyone else know. Not ever could he let this news get out.

He couldn't move, his body felt displaced. His entire world was upside down as the walls were breaking. All of his muscles were shaking, trembling uncomfortably as he tried to regain himself. But at this point he was past a point of return. He couldn't-

"Darlin' wait for me!" Himura barely realized as the thin arm wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him to his feet. Carefully adjusting to put most of his wait on Kaito. "Now, where do you want to go?"

"Away…"

"Hmmm, I'll pick for you then darling. But it'll take a little while, so let me guide you, sweetheart." Kaito spoke gently as he tried to decide where to take the other man. Himura was still too dazed to understand where they were headed. However, the rotation of his world slowly became more manageable as time passed. The world coming into focus as he was sat down in a wooden seat, Kaito's presence suddenly gone as he looked around.

He saw the fluffy, soft red hair of the actor swaying behind the counter. Quickly working the machines in front of him as he worked in silence. Himura took this moment to calm down. To watch the actor's beautiful, blue eyes watch carefully scanning over the counter. Watching with such attention as they quietly worked. Their long lashes batting over their eyes and their perfect teeth gently biting their soft lips. Himura wasn't even fully aware that he was walking back until the Actor sat a tall cup of coffee in front of him, the top decked out with a thick amount of whipped cream sprinkled with dark chocolate and crunched mocha beans. Kaito gently placed a spoon next to the barista. Then he slid into the seat next to him, drinking from a plain, white mug. Even in this dazed state Himura could tell it was just a cup of plain, black coffee.

"Now don't make me feed it to you darling." Kaito coaxed as he wrapped his slender fingers around his cup.

Himura paused. He never liked to admit it but… he loved frappuccinos so much. The sweet sugar perfectly mixed with coffee. It was a shame, so many baristas saw the drink as some beverage for low level coffee drinkers but Himura thought it was the ultimate marriage between coffee and sweets. Especially with dark chocolate and whipped cream. It was his favorite comfort food. He picked up the spoon, taking a small bite and feeling the sugar and caffeine start to pull him back down.

"Muuuuch better. Now, do you want to talk about it?" Kaito asked, his fingers drumming his own cup. Himura went to speak but Kaito paused a moment. "Don't tell me your secret. It's too much responsibility. Plus I would never want to impose such a tasking request. I'm just here to lend a beautiful ear. Talk about whatever you want."

Himura shrugs. Letting out a long, drawn out sigh. He didn't have anything he _wanted_ to talk about. He just wanted to get as far away from _that_ as he could.

"I can talk if you want, baby." Kaito smiled, sipping the coffee for a moment before cradling it right below his nose. Those almond shaped eyes were so amazing peering over the simple porcelain cup. "I'm a real good talker."

Himura shrugged as he took another bite from his coffee. It was so sweet. A delicious wave washed over him and helped loosen those tense muscles just a little more. He paused, watching Kaito before nodding slowly. "Talking would be nice."

Kaito chuckled and took another sip of coffee. "Well there's so much I could tell you! The movies I've been in, how I like to rehearse, Oh even my favorite desserts! Did you know they made a movie about the first killing game? They had me play Makoto. It was a fun project, for sure!"

"Why… are you talking to me?" Himura spoke softly, not really sure of where the question even came from. It surprised him, how weak his voice was, how shaky. But it really made him wonder, why was Kaito talking to him. After the spectacle that had just taken place in the gym, any sane person would have ran as far away as possible and not gotten closer to the other student who was obviously hiding such a secret his first response when asked was to swallow it whole. So why was he trying to comfort him now. It seemed like a waste of the actor's precious time. "I'm not worth your time."

"Because you need a distraction, darlin'." He said it like it was so simple, like that explanation was supposed to make any more sense on why the actor would waste his time. Himura looked down, unable to meet those pretty, blue eyes with his own anymore. He wished he could enjoy this moment more but the heavy weight in his chest wouldn't go away. His fingers nervously fidgeted around the cup of his drink, slowly feeling the cold seep out of the porcelain and bite into his darker flesh.

There was a moment of silence that followed. It hung in the air, drifting between the two as there wasn't another word spoke for awhile. Then the slender, warm fingers wrapped around his, gently pulling them off the glass as he set them down on the table so he could easily wrap his fingers around both of them. Cupping the other man's in his own. The skin of his hands wasn't as soft as Himura had always expected. It was a bit coarser underneath the soft touch of his cocobutter lotion. There was work there, stuff he'd missed just by looking at him. Himura only raised his eyes enough to look at the pampered hands of the actor. Watching as the smooth olive blended with the darker mocha. He couldn't bring himself to look the actor in the face yet, still his chest was still too heavy… to shameful. Instead, he kept his eyes locked onto the intermingled hands in front of him.

"I'm not as perfect as you think I am honey." The actor's words passed by Himura's head, taking them as just a friendly gesture for now. He kept his eyes locked down on the hands as the redhead continued. "You see me so highly, it's almost unbelievable. Sure, I'm beautiful, fabulous, amazing, a fan favorite for sure, plus I am the most flexible person you'll ever meet, I even do my own stunts, but that all comes at a price. I have expectations to uphold, people to impress, if I don't do those things, I'm a failure. I have to look good at all times, remember my lines and steps, and it's all to make out an image of who I need people to see me as. One miss step and everyone will see the loser I really am. That I'm not the most gorgeous actor in the entire world, that I'm just some boring man playing a part."

Himura looked up, looking the actor in the eyes as the words slid out of his mouth. They were sincere, some parts didn't carry as much heavy, flamboyant fluctuations to the words as most of his sentences. The long lashes over his eyes batted and he squeezed his hands tighter the second Himura made eye contact with him. "What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? Well, that I'm not as great as you think I am. I'm just average. But if I don't play a flamboyant man with beauty and grace on his side, everyone would get bored of me."

"But… why are you telling me this?"

"Because I need you to know you're not below me. I know that just like me you put on a show every day. So that no one sees how much of a mess you are on the inside. I just think it's important to know that you're not a coward for breaking character, it happens darling. Sometimes it's hard to be who everyone wants to to be."

Himura swallowed, something about it, it made a small, warm pit form in his previously hollowed out chest. Sure, the dark, dangerous feeling hadn't left, the empty feeling was still there. But Kaito's reassurance made him feel at least a little better. He felt as Kaito squeezed his hand again, the contact sent warm buzzes through his chilled skin. He just saw Kaito in a brighter light now. A warmer, more organic light, but still a spotlight. He was just so unbelievably perfect. "I doubt anyone could ever find you boring."

"Ha, you'd be surprised. People don't find me interesting, they find the people I play interesting. My entire life I pretended to be someone else in order to please the people I care about." Kaito said softly, rubbing his thumb over the back of Himura's hand as he spoke, watching as the skin stretched and wrinkled under the touch.

"Well you don't have to pretend around me." Himura said, gently as he leaned a little closer. He wasn't really thinking about it until it was already done. Locking their lips together in a kiss, Himura enjoyed the surprisingly soft skin that was soon pressed against his own. It took a moment for Kaito's lips to respond, stiff for just a second before returning the kiss. Himura could feel a hands on his cheeks, one on each side as the actor dove in for another kiss. Longer this time as their lips locked together in another sweet kiss.

Himura wished he could put it in better words. It was nothing like he could have ever imagined for so many reasons. The other man's lips were soft from the use of expensive products, leaving the sweet taste of strawberries in his mouth. It wasn't perfect, no perfect would have ruined this moment. Their noses bumped a little, teeth bumped, but it felt… felt natural. The sweet moment reminded Himura how long it had been since he'd kissed someone.

When the two finally sat back, Himura turned beat red, quickly diving back into his frappuccino as the whipped cream slowly went flat. Kaito tried to play it cool but his cheeks were a slight red. There was no hiding natural color. Kaito wrapped his hand around his own mug to take a sip quietly. Himura was tempted to say more when the door opened. Both turning to see Headmaster Naegi walk in, looking relieved to see both of them.

"I finally found you two!" Naegi stated, taking a few steps forward before sitting at the table. "Himura, are you feeling better?"

Himura had been feeling a little better… until Makoto asked just now, his panicked mood sinking back in at the idea of the teacher questioning him. "I'm fine now."

"Good," Was all Naegi said, maybe the teacher knew better than prying into someone's secrets, "Souda finished the communicator so we can do the test now."

"Wait!" Kaito spoke before Himura got the chance. "You got Himura to help? That's a dangerous job!"

"Well I needed someone I can trust and when you said no I figured Himura would be the best bet." Makoto argued, though he didn't sound very mad about it all. He sounded more… disappointed than anything.

"Pick someone else, I-" Kaito objected, shifted in his chair before being cut off by a hand on his arm.

"It's fine, I can do it, Ryuunosuke. Don't worry about me." Himura said, sighing as he sipped at his coffee again. "Besides, its the least I can do for scaring everyone today."

Makoto nodded before giving Himura a pat on the shoulder. "That's good to hear. I'll meet you at the stairs to the teacher's lounge right before the nighttime announcement." The teacher stood to his feet, brushing himself off as he went to leave, pausing to look back. Himura was surprised to see him look at Kaito intently, scanning him over before leaving.

Kaito stood up and brushed himself off once he was gone. "Well, I'm gonna go check on everyone else, darling. Everyone needs a little bit of Kaito in their life." He held his hands tight for a moment, staring him in the eyes as he waited. "I want you to know I'll always keep you safe. You can trust me."

"I know." Himura said with a smile. There wasn't anyone here he trusted more than Kaito. No one in his entire life, really.

Kaito smiled, soon he left too, leaving Himura alone in the cafe. He turned back to his drink, going to sip on it when he noticed the envelope in his hand. At first he was confused since he had ate his own secret, so how did this one get here. That was when Himura saw Kaito's name neatly written on the outside. This… this was Kaito's secret. It had yet to be opened, so there was no way the actor knew what was inside. Himura wondered why he had given it to him. There was only two possible solutions. 1, the actor didn't have any horrible secrets worth killing for or 2, he trusted Himura not to care what the secret was. That no matter what was written in this envelope, he'd still care about him. Himura really hoped it was the second option as he tossed it into his pocket, deciding against reading it right now.

Instead, Himura sipped up the rest of his coffee. Enjoying the creamy, cold mocha to the very last drop as he tried to calm down for tonight.

* * *

"C'mon Koba! Do a flip." Luna joked as the group reached the open area in front of the bedrooms. "Impress us."

"I'll 'press ya," Koba started as he set his board down on the ground, "I'm here ta teach ya. You'll be doing sick drops soon enough."

"Oh I bet we will." Luna chuckled, covering her mouth as she watched him.

"An important step for sk8ing is that you have to look cool, no matter what. The tricks will come as long as you're being cool." Koba directed as he went to stand on the board. Already he was having a hard time keeping balance. It took a lot of focus to try and stay put, to keep the board from running away from him. "Keep ya balance top! One slip up and you'll be bustin' your teeth!"

Koba went to skate around a bit, trying to get himself to go in perfect circles around the two. However he was just barely scooting around on the ground around them, barely making a full circle when Iris cleared her throat. However she didn't say anything yet. Koba couldn't help but notice she looked… anxious, like she wanted to say something.

Koba tried to keep himself going on the board, but he wasn't getting too far. The kid would probably go faster if he just walked around in circles. He'd probably look cooler doing it too, instead of awkwardly scooting around on this board. At least he hadn't fallen yet, that was always something to look forward too.

"So… I found this photo Koba."

"What?" Koba went to look too fast, causing him to fall and crash into the ground. Sliding a bit against the hard tile ground. He let himself lay on the floor for a few minutes, his head still spinning from the crash.

"Ops, looks like you're bustin' those teeth." Luna chuckled as she went to help Koba back to his feet. The skater brushed himself off as he stood up. "You okay?"

"I'm peachy." Koba said, but once he was back on his feet, he looked directly to Iris. "What picture?"

Iris took a couple steps forward before handing the picture towards him. It was the one he was looking for. He could tell even from the back of the picture. He wondered what had happened to the precious cargo but never had he imagined that Iris had taken the photo. He reached out, gently taking it from her. "Where did you find this? 'Ve been lookin' all over for this."

"After the class trial it fell from your pocket. I've been meaning to give it back to you but everyone's been… busy." Iris watched Koba's hands as he took the picture. Slowly flipping it over to actually look at the image. The old, worn picture of Koba and an almost identical boy. One was dressed in a bright, extravagant jacket with a similar hat to Koba's. Then there was a more simple looking version of the boy in grey clothing. He looked bland and simple, ready to blend into the background. Koba stared at it for a long, silent moment. Not even realizing how lost he'd gotten in it until more talking broke him the effects of the photo lasted, making him feel as if his entire body was sinking deeper into the water and his legs were made of lead. His movements were hard, like paddling through the water but never being strong enough to pull himself back to the surface.

"Who's that with you in the photo?" Luna asked, peeking over the two of them as she tried to get a good look. "He looks a lot like you."

Koba swallowed as he rubbed his neck, moving to put the photo back in his pocket. Almost felt wrong… putting it anywhere near the secret he'd just received. But he couldn't look at it for longer than necessary. It made his hands shake and tremble. He never understood why, but just looking at it made him feel as if he was having an out of body experience. Like his mind was trying to escape and get as far away from the photo as possible. He already had a hard time staying on his feet so he really didn't need this photo making him anymore light headed. "It's a picture of me and my brother."

"Oh… what happened to him?" Iris asked, Koba was unsure if she was recalling his secret or his reaction to carrying the photo around.

"He died of cancer." Koba said bluntly, surprised at how hollow his voice was for a moment. "Actually, the medication I made to cure the cancer killed him… I… rushed it and it made his health spiral out of control."

"Is that why your note said you killed your brother?" Luna asked, rubbing her arm as she watched him. "Because that doesn't sound like it's your fault at all."

Koba rubs his neck more, if he kept it up he might rub it raw. "Yeah… I know but… How am I the Ultimate Cytologist if I can't even cure his cancer? I don't even know why they invited me to Hope's Peak. My cure just made him more sick. My cure killed him. I'm just a failure."

The two girls were silent for a moment, unsure of what to say next, probably, so Koba just continued. "My brother would have been the Ultimate Skater if he hadn't died… He was so good at it. Best Skater I'd ever seen. He taught me everything I know now."

"Well why don't you keep showing us how to do it?" Luna said finally, taking a step forward to poke the board with her foot.

"Yeah," Iris started, adjusting her hat on her head as she cheered, "you promised you'd show me how to do a flip like you did in the greenhouse!"

Koba perked up, suddenly the memories were pushed into the back of his mind, swallowed whole my some dark substance in his mind. Like a sinkhole that absorbed anything unpleasant. Koba climbed on top of the board, rolling off again as he slowly skated towards the nearest chair. Something in his chest felt heavy, as if something he was missing something. Instead he tried to focus on the chair ahead of him. It was hard to focus, his mind was fuzzy and the chair was coming up faster than expected. He pushed off, only to get his foot caught on the chair as he crashed down into the ground.

Koba was knocked back into the real world, the fuzziness in his mind was knocked out, sending him back to the school they were trapped inside. Sprawled out on the floor as he finally recollected himself.

"Koba, you okay?" a voice called out to him, familiar yet it failed to hit any specific memories. A tanned hand reached down to him, his eyes following it up to see a girl with long, straight black hair reaching down towards him. For a second, this girl was there. She seemed familiar as she made his gut churn. The second he blinked, however, she was gone, replaced by the familiar Iris. She looked concerned. She had every right to be worried since Koba was apparently seeing things. "You hit your head really hard."

"That's jus' how I land!" Koba hopped onto his feet, grabbing the board from the ground. "Takes a real expert to pull that one off!"

Iris giggled and gave a nod. "Oh! Well you really nailed that landing!"

Koba gave a nod, adjusting the hat on his head with a grin. "I always stick my landin's. Now, how about you give it a try?"

"Me…?" Iris looked startled as Koba handed the skateboard over to her. Her eyes wide as she looked over the scuffed piece of wood. "I've never even skated before. There's no way I can do it like you do!"

"Aw, don't think like that!" Koba encouraged as he stuffed his hands into his pockets, his fingertips brushing against the photo and old candy wrappers. The only thing he really kept inside his jacket. "The best way to learn is by just doin' it."

Iris paused, looking worried before a determined smile crossed her face. She nodded, setting the board down before stepping on it. She looked undeterred as she wobbled her first few seconds. Though soon she was skating across the room as if she'd done this before. She was even going faster than Koba, skating around the rooms in circles. She even had the kick down, almost like muscle memory told her exactly what to do. Koba couldn't help but let his mouth pop open a bit as she kicked off, doing a small jump and landing back on the board perfectly.

Luna was trying hard not to laugh next to him, covering her mouth with her hand as she snickered. Koba felt his face turn red as Iris skating back towards the two. Koba couldn't help notice she was pouting a little bit as she rolled back up to the two.

"What's wrong?" Koba asked, confused as she sadly hopped off the board.

"I couldn't do it right," Iris started, sounding extremely disappointed as she gave the board back to Koba, "I couldn't land on my face, it was too hard. You must be really talented to land like that! My whole body wouldn't let me land like that!"

Luna couldn't hold it in any longer. She erupted in laughter, having to hold her gut as she lost it. She was laughing so hard she was even snorting, air not coming into her as fast as she was exhaling it.

"Don' worry about it. There's a reason I'm the Ultimate Sk8r. It takes a long time to land flips so perf'ly. So don't be too sad, okay?" Koba smiled as he scooped his board back up as he threw up a peace sign. "One day you'll be as radical as me."

"Wow, you must be a really special kid to have two talents!" Iris almost had stars in her eyes as she cheered, looking as if she actually thought this was the case. At least one person believed in him.

Luna let out another laugh before patting Koba on the shoulder, a few more giggles escaping her as she tried her best to pull herself together to speak. "You guys should be heading to bed soon, it's getting late. Thanks for hanging out with me. I'll see you two in the morning. Stay alive till then, okay?"

The two watched as the seamstress strolled back towards her room. He wasn't sure how she found this so funny. Or how she could be so calm all day today. Either way, he was surprised. This must be what it feels like to have friends. It made his chest warm, as if he could depend on these people. The fact that someone would miss him if he died tonight made him feel important. "Looks like it's time to punch the hay Iris. I can walk you too your room."

"I don't think you got the expression right but I'd love it if you could walk me back." Iris said, giggling as the two headed down to their rooms. Koba quietly thinking of what might happen tonight. Silently praying that no one was going to die.

Hoping that no one was going to die ever again.

* * *

"I want to help with tonight's event."

Makoto hadn't seen the white haired teacher until he stood at the bottom of the stairs with him. He hadn't expected any of the other teachers to offer their help. He didn't really need it.

"I don't think I need your help, Komaeda. But thanks for the offer." Makoto said as he kept his eyes peeled for Himura. The sooner the student got here the sooner they could get started.

"I can be a back up." Komaeda took another step forward, easily hovering over the headmaster's shoulder. "Just in case you need an extra hand. I know a talentless hack like me can't do much to assist the Ultimate Hope, but it would be an honor of you could find something to do with this worthless husk."

Makoto sighed, figuring the teacher wouldn't let it go until he got to help in some way. Naegi rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of what to assign the teacher but not wanting to hear anymore of Komaeda's degrading words. "If we need your help I'll give you a call."

"I'll be waiting then." Komaeda replied, though the words made Makoto shudder. Something just felt off in the way he talked.

"Good evening, Naegi-Sama." Himura said as he took a step forward. The barista had made it just in time.

Makoto stood to his feet, handing the other communicator over to the student. "I was a worried you wouldn't show up. Thank you so much for your help."

Himura shrugged, putting the device in one of his apron pockets. "After what I did this morning… it's the least I could do."

Makoto hesitated for a moment. Seeing the way the student looked at this moment reminded him of his friends. The pure devastation that flooded every inch of their face. He thought back to Mondo and Chihiro… the two who'd been the most affected by these secrets. Destroyed by what they had kept hidden from their friends. The fear of doing something horrible was present behind the barista's eyes. Boiling inside of him and threatening to burst out of him. Naegi knew they'd have to keep a close eye on the student. "Don't worry about it, Himura. It's in the past now."

"So… what are we doing?" Himura questioned, obviously trying to hurry this along.

"We're testing the Mastermind's security." Makoto started as he rubbed his hands together. "I need you to go and try and get Monokuma's attention and see if he comes to you. I'll give you the signal when you should try and get his attention."

"What good does this do?" Himura asked, crossing his arms as he glanced around. His nervous behavior was starting to rub off on Makoto.

"Back when me and my friends were trapped in this school, a friend of mine did something similar. We were able to see the length of the mastermind's security, plus in the end, it helped us figure out who the mastermind was." Naegi paused, thinking back to the second killing game for a moment. Yeah, this could tell them if this was a real world or not… I feel like it's complicated, but I promise you it's important."

Himura nodded, "Sounds good to me. If you think it'll help I'll do it."

"Now, there's a button that will send out a beep, the small blue button. I'll hit it twice when you should try to draw Monokuma's attention. If Monokuma shows up and you can't speak, hit the button three times. That way we won't risk him getting suspicious if we don't need to." Makoto started, trying to remember all of the instructions Souda had given him. "To talk, you just hit the black button. As long as you're holding it down we can hear it. If you need both your hands and want to talk, hit the red button. As long as it's down every sound will be transferred over."

"Good luck, Himura. Thank you so much." Himura nodded, pausing as he went to take a step back and into the hall, away from the teacher's dorms. Makoto was ready to head up the stairs, the alarm for the night time was about to go off at any moment. But Makoto stopped halfway when he heard one more question cross his ears.

"Why do you call Kaito by his first name?"

Makoto turned, making direct eye contact with the barista as he stared up at the teacher. "What?"

"You call Kaito by his first name. That's a sign of familiarity. I'd brush it off if you addressed all of us like that but… it's just him. And I can understand when Luna or Bellerose do it, since they're not from Japan… So why do you call him Ryuunosuke, Naegi-Sama?"

Makoto paused, going to open his mouth and answer. The answer was easy. Nothing he was trying to hide. He was almost surprised the student didn't know. The answer was-

The door dropped shut, Makoto fell backwards onto the steps as the gate to the downstairs rapidly closed. He'd never seen it shut so aggressively and never before the nighttime announcement. Usually the door waited a good ten minutes after the alarm. He heard his communicator buzz on for a moment.

" _You okay?"_

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's get this started, I can still answer your question if you want." Makoto offered. The last thing he wanted was to keep secrets from his students.

"Not right now," Himura's voice was flat and Makoto could hear the light thump of his footsteps over the device. "We can discuss it tomorrow. I doubt it's a big deal. Besides, it seems Monokuma's in a bad mood today."

"No kidding." Makoto said as he headed up the stairs. The headmaster lowered his voice, wondering if the mastermind could hear what they were discussing. Best to talk a little quieter. "So… go somewhere you can get his attention from and wait for my signal. Somewhere he has to come. Can you think of anywhere to go?"

" _It's officially 10.p.m. Nighttime has officially started. The computer lab is now off limits and the doors will be locked. Good Night… Sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite!"_

" _I think I know a good place."_ There was no hesitance. Seemed like this test might even go faster than previously expected.

Makoto headed upstairs. Walking into the lobby, surprised at the lack of other teachers. He set the communicator in his pocket, making it so he could easily reach the buttons. Looking around for some way to get his attention. Clearing his throat, Makoto quickly lifted up his leg, pausing before kicking one of the chairs over, toppling it down as it rattled against the floor. He gave it a few minutes as no one seemed to show up. So, he attacked another chair, kicking it over before moving to the next one. "Better come and stop me! Or else I-I'll break all these chairs!"

"Finally snapped, Naegi?"

Naegi turned to look Monokuma in the face. The bear stood on the table, not really sure how he got up their so quickly. Makoto hoped he didn't look as nervous as he felt. Last time Kirigiri was the brains behind this operation. This time, that was his job and he wasn't too sure he could handle it. "No! I just wanted to tell you you're- uh- stupid."

"Is that it?" Monokuma almost sounded a little exasperated. Makoto needed to get him talking. It was the best way to keep him busy.

"N-No. I've got a bone to pick with you. You're a monster! Don't you see what-"

"Yawn, Makoto." Monokuma pretended to yawn and rock on his toes. "If you're just here to lecture me I'm gonna leave."

"N-No! I have an important bone to pick with you! I-"

"Monokuma, huh. I've been wanting to talk to you." Komaeda suddenly strolled out of his rooms, dressed in just his pants and his weird t-shirt. The pale skin on the man was soaked in sweat, even the white shirt was starting to grow damp from it. He looked like he might topple over onto the floor at any moment, his lanky legs looking as if they might buckle underneath of him. "Do you mind if I talk to him alone, Naegi?"

"S-sure Komaeda…" Naegi tried to act cool as he stepped away. Makoto slipped into the teacher's storage room, slowly sliding the communicator out of his pocket before gently sending the signal for Himura to start. He waited, unsure of what kind of response he'd get before there was three loud, distinct beeps sounding from the communicator.

Three… but that would mean… Makoto swallowed hard, maybe Komaeda had lost Monokuma's attention. Maybe the monochrome bear had slipped from the man's boney fingers. Slowly, Makoto cracked the door back open, peeking back out to the lobby to see the teacher hunched over the bear, the two deeply rooted in a discussion. There was a crackle over the communicator, signalling sounds from the other side.

" _The room is off limits? I had no idea."_ Himura's voice came over the device, a bit broken by static of the communicator.

" _That's bullshit and you know it!"_ Hearing the voice over the device was devastating.

Makoto peeked back out the door, trying to listen to both of them at the same time. Trying to see if maybe they were speaking the same lines. Hoping that maybe it was just advanced tech than what Junko had in her arsenal.

"Oh silly Nagito, if you die we'd all benefit!"

" _Himura don't try to play me for a fool! I'm a genius! Smarting than any of you baboons this school decides to cradle against its bosom._

No… there's two of them. With separate lines… what could this mean. Were they trapped in a digital simulation just like 77-B? Makoto tried to ponder it over, figure out what exactly was happening in this school. But it was almost impossible. He ran his fingers through his hair, worried as fear welled up in his chest. If only Kyoko was here… he'd never been the one to solve these! She'd always been the one to deduct the murders, to solve the killings long before he got anywhere close. If only she was here… no one else would be dead if Kirigiri was here instead of Makoto…

" _What's that you got in your pocket, Kazuki?"_

Makoto jumped, tensing as he suddenly targeted back onto the conversation over the communicator. There wasn't any rules against this, so no one should get in trouble. But Makoto couldn't help but be worried.

" _A communicator. I was using it to talk to my teachers. I was nervous about walking around on my own at night."_ Himura responded, right before something hit the button, ending the call between the two.

Naegi took a deep breath, trying to calm down a bit. If they all worked together they could easily solve the situation at hand. He just couldn't help but miss his friends, quietly hoping that they would be okay… wishing Kirigiri was here to help him solve this. If only-

"Well, Well, Well. Makoto Naegi, I should have known you were behind this little trick." Monokuma was suddenly in the dark storage room, making Makoto pinned against the door in the dark room. The white half of the bear was covered in shadows, making the only thing to really show in the dark was the brilliant, red eye, throwing a red glow across the entire room as a feeling of dread seemed to wash over the area as well.

"We're just investigating." Makoto remarked, already tucking the communicator back into his pocket. "There's no rules against that."

"You're right… Feel free to investigate as much as you want." Monokuma had always sent chills up Makoto's spine, but something was different this time and Makoto couldn't really place it… not yet. "No matter how much you and your gaggle of idiots search this place, no matter what questions you ask, no matter how _smart_ you think you all are, you'll _never_ figure out what's happening here and you'll never escape. You'll watch as we get through an entire killing game. When only one person will walk through that door, blood coating their hands. The despair will come like a poisonous gas and choke everyone once again! Infecting old wounds and creating new ones. You were an idiot Naegi to ever think this was over and now you and everyone you care about will suffer for it."

"Puhuhuhuhuahahahahahahahahaha! Doesn't that sound like a fun game, Naegi?" Suddenly the bear sounded goofy again, as if this was all some kind of sick, twisted joke. "A finished game would be a whole new start to this! No one likes an unfinished game anyways! Nothing sucks more than a game that keeps restarting but is never finished, right?"

"You won't get away with this. We'll win. Hope always wins." Naegi fought back, he didn't even realize his fists were clenched as he glared down at the monster in the room.

"Does it really?" Monokuma asked, his eyes felt as if it zoomed in on him, targeting him. "Do you still believe that, after everything you've seen, you _still_ trust hope? You're weak, Naegi. Hope has been riding you like a broken mule for too long. You can't support it all for much longer before it crushes you like a bug."

"Then someone else will carry hope! We can do it together! I won't let yo-"

Suddenly the communicator kicked back on, buzzing as a loud thud was heard over it, soon followed by the sound of metal hitting tile floor. _A knife_.

Monokuma patted Naegi's leg in mocking comfort. "Looks like things just got exciting again! I have to bid you farewell, my old friend. I have go go watch this on my big screen tv! While you have to wait until morning!"

The sounds of a struggle sounded over the communicator. A loud grunt from Himura was present, Makoto's eyes widening as he recognized the student's voice in the fight. The sound of the knife hitting the ground sounded again, as if someone was making stabbing motions with it.

"Good night, Makoto. Sleep well." Monokuma vanished, leaving Naegi alone with the communicator.

There was nothing he could do. The fight continued on, echoing through the room when the sudden sound of the knife being dropped on the ground sounded, followed by a loud thud as something heavy hit the ground. There was just silence for a few moments before a few, small pats sounded across the line, the sound resembling fabric, soon followed by the sudden end of the call. Whatever happened, it was over now… but does that mean someone's dead. Makoto swallowed hard, feeling a hard knot growing in his throat. If Himura had died, it was his fault.

...And he wouldn't find out until tomorrow.


	12. A Moment of Hope

Koba's limbs felt heavy. Almost as if he was in an unreal world… he barely stumbled out of bed, only dressed in his loose t-shirt and his briefs. He stumbled over, quickly grabbing his shorts and tugging them on. He was half asleep… but he felt like he had somewhere he needed to go. His mouth was dry. He must have been snoring again and sleeping with his mouth wide open. Only one thing could make this better and that was a nice, cool glass of water.

He didn't bother putting on his hat or jacket, leaving his hair in more of a mess than normal. Everything felt like a rush. And he was just so… tired yet so thirsty. It was quiet as he stumbled out of the room and into the hallway. Of course it was quiet, it was the middle of the night. Everyone else was probably asleep.

It only took him a moment to get a cup of water from the kitchen. He was really glad the kitchen wasn't closed at night. He didn't know what he'd do if he couldn't even get something to drink in the middle of the night. Sucking down the cold, wet water really was refreshing as it washed down the gritty, dirty taste that was always left over when he fell asleep with his mouth open. Letting out a long, pleased sigh as he rinsed the cup out when he was finished, knowing Bellerose would be on his ass if he left dirty dishes laying around.

Koba was on his way back to his room when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. It was fuzzy at first, almost as if it wasn't real. But Koba slowly turned his head. Eyes locking onto the figure, slowly trying to make out the details.

It was at the top of the stairs. Smaller than any of the other students, even smaller than Sweeney. It was dressed in a dark green… cloak? It was like a cloak on the small figure, too long for even it's hands to show out of the sleeves. The dark of the hood shadowed where the face of this gremlin grin reaper would be. Only tenticle like strands escaped in a few places, mainly going down their shoulders.

Without thinking, Koba took a step towards it. There was something unreal about what he was seeing. Something that drew him closer, as if he was trying to find some kind of answer.

The figure responded with a startled gasp, turning and fleeing back up the stairs and disappearing around the corner. Koba didn't hesitate with a response, chasing after the figure without hesitation.

He wasn't sure why he felt the need to give chase. Maybe it was the curiosity warming his gut or his already impulsive behavior. Either way he was already taking long strides up the stairs, reaching the top just in time to see the figure head off into the next flight of stairs.

Koba bolted, close enough behind to notice if the figure changed course. There was no way the figure could sneak into one of the other rooms without him at least seeing the door close. This was confirmed further as they reached the next flight of stairs, Koba saw just as the cloak seemed to flick the corner of the stairs.

He knew there was no where else to go on the third floor. The stairs were blocked off, so there was no way they could get around him. He just needed to know how this _thing_ got in here. Maybe they knew a way out… maybe they could save their life.

Koba reached the top of the stairs just in time to see the teacher's room's door shut. They were cornered now, that room had no other exits. Without hesitating, Koba entered the room.

The scientist looked around as the door closed behind him. The soft click of the door was almost silent and could easily be missed if one wasn't listening for it. His eyes scanned the room, missing the figure huddled in the corner the first time around. But with a moment of realization, his gaze locked on, slowly heading around the desks just in time to see the figure reaching onto one of the desks, putting a bunch

of stuff onto the teacher's box. However, when they noticed him, they gasped again, backing up and walking into the wall. Small hands receding back into the sleeves.

Koba could see better at this moment, make out the dark green of the cloak, which would be a longer coat for a normal sized person. Draped over this small figure it covered every inch of it. Koba also noticed red squares scattered over one of the shoulders... their right shoulder?

"Hey… it's okay." Koba said, slowly walking closer to the figure. "I just want to know how you got here? Who are you? Are you okay?"

The figure didn't speak. Just stared at him. As the skater drew closer he could see pale green eyes peering out from underneath the hood.

Koba stopped moving, the terror in their eyes caught him off guard. Whatever this thing was, he was scaring it.

"Don't worry," he started, trying to comfort the figure as much as he could, "I won't hurt you."

"Koba…?" A voice spoke, but it didn't come from the figure… but maybe that was his imagination.

Koba felt his mouth open to respond but no words came out. He snapped it shut, confused at the sudden situation. He opened his mouth again, trying to comfort them more, but still, nothing exited his lips. With a confused sound, Koba felt his head start to spin. He started to panic as he fell to his knees. No longer able to move. He looked up, seeing the small, pale face under the hood, seeing the terror that seemed to be focused somewhere else at this point. Koba gasped, trying to break out a few more words before the corners of his world grew black.

" _You're dreaming… Fumio."_

 _I'm dreaming._

Koba suddenly sat up in bed, taking a moment to rub his head as it spun from the nightmare. Now that he had awoken, everything made a little more sense. He could recall tons of nightmares that ended in a similar way. They almost always ended like that. Moments where suddenly words couldn't escape, where suddenly no one could hear him. He was finally silenced.

Koba thought about the many nightmares that had ended in a similar way. Ones involving his sweet mother and dear brother. Every nightmare was in pieces as his brain tried hard to press them into the back of his mind. Bloody images of his family lined his memories. But those were all nightmares, all ending in his gasping silence. _His family grew up happy in a nice house. Nothing bad has ever happened to us._

What confused him though, was what that figure meant? Maybe they were a symbol of escape. A manifestation of his desire to leave this place. Yeah, that made sense. Groaning, Koba went and curled back up in bed. Seeing he still had an hour or two before it was actually 7. He tugged the thick blanket back over his head, cuddling underneath and falling back into a light sleep.

* * *

Makoto wasn't able to sleep the entire night. The fact that one of the students were dead kept him awake. Now he was leaned against the gate, ready to run to the third floor the second the door popped open. He had to know, he had to hope that Himura didn't die because of him. That he didn't lead the student to his death.

When the alarm went off, Makoto jolted upwards, ready to bolt the second he could fit through the door. He mentally blocked out Monokuma's voice as it echoed through the tvs around him. The door slowly started to lift up, taking longer than usual. With a growl, Makoto hopped down, crawling down the second the opening was large enough before bolting down the hall. One of the only times being so small was a benefit to him.

He could feel the aftereffects of a sleepless night as he started to run up the first flight of steps. Adrenaline and exhaustion seemed to battle it out as he climbed up the stairs, resting in some mediocre middle spot as he reached the second set of stairs. He was almost there. Almost to the top of the third floor. His mind reeled to try and decipher where the fight had taken place. When Himura had talked to him, he had no idea where he had gone… Himura seemed so intent on where he should go. The student knew exactly where to go to get the bear's attention. But where could he have gone?

Right when he reached the top floor, Makoto realized just where Himura must have went. During the nighttime announcement Monokuma had mentioned how the computer lab was now off limits. That had to have been where he went. Makoto ran to the room, pausing in front of the door as he remembered that there was no way they could be inside. He scanned the floor around the door, looking over the details of the hall to find anything noticeable. That was when he saw it, scuffs and gouges into the floor. Makoto followed them, seeing a few where there must have been a struggle. A few scuffs where the knife swiped and hit the ground and deep indents where it was stabbed into the ground. But there was no signs of blood… which was a relief. Maybe no one died last night. Maybe for once, in the entire history of the murdering school life, someone went back on their murderous intent.

But there was one last place Makoto had to check to feel safe with that idea. Hope had washed into his stomach but was slowly drained out again as he looked towards the wall. The door to the teacher's room seemed to loom over him. The most frightening aspect, however, was the fact the door hadn't been closed all the way. No, instead it was slightly ajar, the darkness inside the room casting a thin shadow into the hall.

Slowly Makoto pushed the door open. His eyes first scanned for bodies. He felt the tension in his gut as he thought some of the shadows in the corners where bodies. Drifting into ghosts of the past. The fear of finding another body weighed his body down like it was full of sand. But after staring down the nightmares it became obvious they were just shadows. With further searching it became obvious that there was no dead bodies in the computer lab.

Something did catch Makoto's eyes, however. A pile of papers on top of Komaeda's desk. Reflective tape must have been used on the folder because a small square glowed in the light provided from the open door. Makoto paused before slowly scooping them up into his hands. He looked then over carefully. Someone had put these here… someone had wanted these to be found.

Makoto glanced around, wondering where these could have come from. If Monokuma out them here, they were a trap… but if someone else put these here than Makoto needed to hurry. If they weren't supposed to be here, Makoto knew Monokuma would come to retrieve the lost info.

Makoto quickly thumbed the folder open. The first page revealed the most important info regarding this folder. It was all the info detailing the new students. Turning the page, Makoto looked over an index of all of the students. Scanning over them as quickly as possible. Something caught him off guard right away… someone's name was missing from the list of students.

 _Where was Masako Kagabu's name? It was missing from the list._

There was also a large, scribbled out name on the list, but it was too short to be her name. What did these mean? Makoto went to open up the first student file but was stopped dead in his tracks.

"Well, Well, Well." A chill ran up Makoto's spine as the voice slowly grew closer. The bear had such light steps, it was so easy to miss the sound of his steps slowly closing in on the headmaster. "Why don't you just hand that over?"

Makoto went to pull it away but the bear jumped up, snatching the folder away from him before flipping through it. It was almost like he was checking the information inside. With a shrug, Monokuma pulled out one of the files before he grabbed another file from behind his back, tossing it inside the folder and tossing the whole mess back. "You weren't supposed to get this information yet… though I don't think you were the person _they_ wanted to find it. Either way, you can have the rest of this information. Plus I threw in a little bonus reading. A gift to show you how much I 3 You guys!"

Monokuma tucked the other file under his arm. Makoto couldn't take his eyes off of it. Obviously they needed it if Monokuma refused to let them have it. The bear started to leave, Makoto's eyes staring the bear down as he made his departure.

"Oh, and Makoto, stay out of trouble." Monokuma said, glancing over his shoulder, showing his menacing, toothy grin that was carved into his face. "You and your fellow teachers will be punished if you get in our way."

Makoto just glared at him, knowing whatever he said would just be made into a joke. His silence just seemed to make the bear giggle, his paw covering his mouth as he let out another laugh, trembling with the power as he walked out of the door.

Makoto looked over the desk next to him, gripping the folder in his hands. Who had left these here? And who were they left for. Makoto scanned the desk, looking for anything else that might be important. Nothing really seemed to catch his eyes. With a long sigh, Makoto sank into one of the seats, opening the folder up to scan over the documents.

He tried to find information that would be helpful to them. He looked over the names, matching them with what was still inside the folder. Yup, just as Makoto thought, Monokuma had removed the folder belonging to the scratched out name. With a sigh, he dug out the info the bear had crammed inside. It was a case file. Makoto shrugged, setting it aside before digging back into the folder. If Monokuma willingly gave him that information than it was definitely a trap. No matter what, it should be saved for last.

The rest were student profiles. At first, they were extremely unfamiliar. But the more he looked them over, the more he started to remember them. This was how they decided who would be the first students of the New Hope's Peak Academy.

They were all composed of handwritten notes from scouting. The text detailing important deductions on their performance when the scouts appeared. Makoto already knew who wrote these. While there had always been two people on recruitment missions, one of them was constant amongst all the visits. These had all been hand written reports from Nagito Komaeda. Flipping through more pages, Makoto absorbed the information to the best of his ability, but nothing seemed important. He skipped over Kaitos since almost nothing was written on him anyways. There was nothing this file could tell him about the actor that he didn't already know. The next shortest one was Himura's.

Thinking about it, Makoto remembered how Himura was added to the school. He had been discovered completely by accident. Komaeda and Asahina had just happened to choose that coffee shop for a quick breakfast. How the two made the quick decision to add him to the roster after taking a quick sip of his work. It truly had been a surprise to catch such a talented student in the cafe… it had been so small and apparently barely keeping itself afloat. The fact that such a talented student was hidden inside was absolutely astonishing.

Flipping through the pages, Makoto felt a heavy heart looking over his students. These profiles brought back memories of his excitement to reopen the school. He remembered preparing the school for their arrival, the joy it brought him to help these kids into an even brighter world and open up an entirely new future for them.

But… was this school what's killing them now. He looked over the dead students profiles. Frowning as Hotta's file popped up in his view. They wouldn't be forced into this killing game of they hadn't been selected, right? The fact that they were even in this game was his fault… Makoto closed the folder with shaky hands. He had to take a long, deep breath to compose himself, trying his hardest to avoid the breakdown that was working it's way up from his throat. These kids needed him and… all he did was fail him.

Makoto couldn't look at the profiles any longer, snapping it shut and pushing it away before glancing over to the other folder. Even though this heavy feeling of despair that loomed in his chest, curiosity found its way through as he glanced it over. The folder was different than the others as sharpie scrawled a date over the front. This… this was a murder case file… but… why would Monokuma give this to them?

* * *

Himura rubbed his shoulder, still sore from last night. He glanced around, his mind still a little hazy as he started to pull himself out of bed. He made a promise last night. _He wouldn't talk about what happened last night._

Sighing, Himura went over to his counter, leaning onto the marble before letting out a long, drawn out yawn. Slowly getting to work, he began making himself a hot pot of coffee. While waiting, something caught his attention. There it was, Kaito's envelope filled with the Actor's secret. Himura gently lifted it up, even more surprised to see the actor hadn't even opened it yet. So… Kaito had no idea what the threat was. The actor had displayed a sign of trust to Himura, how else could this be taken?

Himura wanted to just pop it open, to peek inside and read over the contents. He wanted to absorb more information on the actor, to just see how perfect he really was. But at the same time, the note felt so private, like something he should never look at, something that wasn't ever meant to cross his gaze. Like he was sinking his teeth into private information that didn't belong to him.

Himura would… sit on it. He'd decide later if if he'd read the note, there wasn't any rush, since the last attempt at murder was a failure, maybe they'd all get through this hitch free. Maybe Monokuma would lose this round. Himura made himself a nice cup of coffee aa he crammed the secret into his apron pocket. It seemed like he had nothing to worry about.

Himura stepped out of his room just as the morning announcement went off, allowing him to barely catch the headmaster bolt to the stairs.

... _Oops_ …

He forgot to give the teacher a call… the headmaster must think he's dead. Himura was about to follow him when he saw Kobayashi straggle from his room, the fellow student looked exhausted beyond words. Waddling out of his room as he struggled to pull his windbreaker on. Himura went to go talk to him, only to see the beanpole of a student suddenly shoot up straight, making eye contact with Himura before his big, goofy smile stretched over his face. "Yo, yo, yo it's my numba one bromie!"

Himura paused, catching himself as a slight chuckle bubbled from his chest. He wasn't sure if the humor came from Koba's demeanor or his weird words, but it seemed to lift Himura out of his slump, even if it was just for a moment. "Morning, Koba."

A few more seconds later and more students seemed to pile out of their rooms. Slowly the group gathered in the hall, a lot of the students looking a little anxious.

"Come on everyone!" Sugai belted as he pushed his way through the crowd, "let's go get some grub!"

Most of the class followed after him, but Himura paused as a few of the students stayed back. Iris, Niijima, Koba, and Kusonoki all stayed back for a moment, the group of them smiling a bit before Iris took a step forward.

"Himura, we wanted to thank you for being such a good friend… you've done a lot for us and we appreciate that… we probably wouldn't be alive without you… so, here!" She quickly handed him a bright, yellow rose. Himura carefully took it, being mindful of the thorns that covered the green stem. It was one of the biggest roses he'd ever seen. "Yellow roses represent joy and friendship… so I hope you like it…"

"I want to go next." Niijima said, taking a step away from her spot nuzzled next to Kusonoki. She pulled out a small object from behind her back, thrusting it towards Himura with a smile. He gently put the rose in his pocket so he could take the large porcelain mug from the DJ. Himura looked it over, noticing the goofy, cat shaped mug his friend had given him. It had large, rounded ears on the top, making it so you couldn't drink from the sides if you wanted to. The handle was a cat's arm that reached up to the cheek. The cat itself making a cutely angry ;3c face once you put it all together. "I thought I'd mix both our interests," Niijima said, a small smile crossing the girl's thin lips.

"Cats and Coffee, what more could someone ask for?" Himura joked, watching as Niijima took a step back, letting Koba bounce up to the front next.

"You bro, I appreciate ya. You don't treat me like garbage and that means a lot to me." Koba said as he tossed Himura small, wrapped piece of candy. "So I'm givin ya one of my favorite treats!"

Himura looked over the fruit roll up in his hand before tossing it into his pocket, chuckling gently to show his appreciation. "Thanks, Koba."

Koba nodded and then, Kusonoki took a step forward. Silent at first before handing over the small, grey square.

"Kusonoki... I couldn't take that." Himura said gently, watching as she handed over her beloved audio recorder.

"Take it." She insisted, moving to instead tuck it into his pocket. "I don't need it anymore because when we get out of here, I'm getting the newest one they have!"

Himura paused for a moment before chuckling. "Thanks you, all of you. I really do appreciate all of this."

"Now, let's go stuff our faces!" Koba barked, bouncing before running off. "See you losers there."

The others went to follow, but Himura stopped Niijima for a moment. "I'm just curious, but where did you get this mug?"

The DJ paused, only seeming to look back when Himura touched her arm. She tapped her jaw before shrugging. "I got it from that weird toy machine where you put in little gold coins and capsules inside. It's called the MonoMono Machine. I found it tucked into an old room next to the nurse station… have you not seen it yet?"

"No…" Himura said, adjusting the large amount of presents in his arms as he glanced around. "But it just sounds weird to have in a place like this."

Niijima nodded before she continued on. "That's what I thought too. But I found this weird little coin with Monokuma's face on it and he said that's what those are for. So I popped it in and that cat mug came out. I know Hotta was telling me about how she found a bunch of coins around the school. It's how she got all those gifts she was giving to everyone on the first day."

"Strange," Himura started, "but I guess it makes sense, she'd have good luck if the presents were for other people."

Niijima shrugged before turning away. "I'm gonna go eat now, I feel like my stomach is going to chew it's way through my flesh if I don't hurry."

Himura chuckled before heading towards his room. "I'll meet you there, Niijima. I have to go put all of these delightful gifts away." Himura joked, though the only present he was iffy about was the fruit roll up, but that was because it was just so… ridiculous.

Himura took a few minutes to gently lay out the presents. Setting the rose into a vase and put it next to the coffee machine. He put the mug close by both of them. With one final gesture he tossed the fruit roll up onto the counter. He paused, holding the last gift in his hand and quietly looking it over.

The small, dark grey box was covered in cute little stickers. Small, pop up ghosts filled with glitter along with a cute, happy version of the investigator with a large camera on her shoulder. It was cute, a small piece of tech like this decorated to be more enjoyable. Something someone would do to an item they carried with them all day. Two buttons rested on the top, both worn down from constant use. A bright, red record button and a smaller, grey play button. It looked like the recorder saved all recordings until they were transferred onto a computer. That was convenient, the ability to hold several recordings until they could be transferred onto a computer later. Himura noticed that the number 3 was scratched onto the paper of the machine. 3 must be the max number of recordings it can hold at a time.

Himura decided to shove the recorder back into his pocket. Something about it made it feel as if it could be used later. Maybe it would be useful to keep it on his person at all times. Shrugging, he headed down to the kitchen.

"There you are." Bellerose said, walking over and tugging Himura into one of the chairs before dropping a large breakfast down in front of him. "I thought I was going to have to hunt you down."

Himura chuckled nervously before grabbing up his fork and taking a few bites. "Sorry, I had to go back to my room for a minute."

"You're fine." Bellerose stated as she elegantly slipped into her seat. "I just won't let anyone skip meals. I'd be shamed for the rest of my life if one of you idiots starved to death."

"So, what are we doing today?" Sugai asked, cramming a forkful of food into his mouth as he looked over his friends.

"Oh, I had a few ideas." Eguchi spoke up, moving her bag onto the table. "If some of you would let me do your makeup I would be completely honored."

"Makeup?" Luna questioned, finishing her food as she glanced over at the other student. "What kind of make up where you thinking of?"

Eguchi shrugged and looked over the entire table. Himura noticed the cat like irises that she'd put in. Her lips pulling over her sharp, vampire like teeth as she looked over everyone. "It just kind of matters who wants to participate. I have ideas for everyone."

"Well you can count me out," Sweeney stood up from the table, pushing his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose before making his exit, "Makeup isn't my thing."

"I decline as well. Unfortunately I have better things to do." Bellerose stood to her feet as well, flipping her ponytail off her shoulder before heading back into the kitchen.

Kaito would lean back in his seat as he ran his lithe fingers through his plush hair. "I'll pass as well, darling. I'm not a fan of other people doing my makeup. But I'd love to watch."

"Makeup gives me rashes… I think." Koba seemed to be the last to speak up, silence following the unsure remark.

Eguchi stood onto her feet and brushed herself off, picking her box up off the counter before looking around at everyone. "Well then, Let's get this started."

Then, everyone followed Eguchi would, heading back towards the bedrooms before leading everyone inside of her own room. At first, Himura was a bit surprised. Sure, the skeleton of all the other rooms was there, the basic bed and the counter with the same ugly wallpaper, but at the same time, so much was different. Her long counter, the place where Himura kept all of his coffee machines, was a long stretch of mannequin heads, each one covered in prosthetics and materials to make them look like fantastical creatures, most of them almost unfathomable. Most of the walls in the room were covered in movie posters, most of which were famous monster movies or sci-fi adventures. Boxes of makeup and other supplies stayed close to the weird faces on the counter, making the entire room look like the backstage of a movie set.

"What a familiar set up!" Kaito said as he flopped into his seat, pressing the back of his wrist to his forehead as her stretched out of his legs. Making such an over dramatic pose is just what makes the actor so colorful. Himura couldn't help roll his eyes a little. Though the smile faded as he remembered the note in his pocket. _What information had Kaito trusted him with_ and _why would he ever trust Himura?_ "Really makes me miss the stage life."

"I miss it too," Eguchi said as she started setting her supplies onto the counter, "I know I didn't get to perform on stage like you, but there was nothing that's ever felt quite as wonderful as creating a masterpiece that will woo the audience and make them believe that the creatures I make are real."

"I feel you darlin'! The way people enjoy the art you put out there for them, the peak they get to see inside your mind every moment you perform… it's… the best feeling in the world." Kaito added, during his pause the actor pulled a lovely rose from his shirt, holding it out in front of him before pretending to give it a nice, gentle sniff. "So, who are you doing first?"

"Well, let's see who will go first." Eguchi said, looking around the small group of friends that had gathered in the room, a few of them had plopped onto her bed as they waited their turn. Himura hesitated as no one stepped forward to go first. Shrugging, he went to volunteer, only to be cut off by a tall figure.

"I'd love to go first!" Sato burst out, leaning forward as her eyes seemed to sparkle, "I'd be honored if you warmed up on me, Eguchi!"

"No! Pick me!" Sugai stepped forward, almost knocking the racer off her feet. "I want to see what you'll turn me in to!"

Eguchi chuckled as she set out the last two seats near the counter for these two. The third one was still occupied with the actor's rump as the guy slowly spun around in the chair. The two eager students flopped down into their seats, both eagerly bouncing as Eguchi picked up her tools to start working.

Everyone watched as Eguchi got to work, slowly layering both of their faces with makeup before putting on separate pieces that resembled rubber. It was amazing, seeing Eguchi perform her talent like this. Just watching it felt like viewing some exclusive preview of a ballroom dance. The performer knowing exactly what steps to make and the story they wished to portray. For a moment, Himura wondered if this is what it felt like to watch him make coffee. Did she zone out too? Get lost inside of her work as if the entire task was more important than life itself. Or did she have her own world to get lost inside as she worked. The concentration was obvious on her face, but she seemed happy to work. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that she deserved her title as Ultimate Special Effects Master.

When she finished, the two students looked fairly different. Sugai was finished first. Eguchi had made the student's jaw look as if it was falling off. Fake flesh was tearing off his face, peeling off as fake blood gathered in the bottom of where the fake flesh touched the real skin. Himura was almost completely fooled by the job and if he hadn't just watched the artist perform the illusion, we would have been positive someone had attacked the Motivational speaker. She passed Sugai a mirror, allowing him to look at the monster she had created. His reaction wasn't as great as everyone else in the room.

"AAHH! I look like a MONSTER!" Sugai shouted, as he looked afraid of his own reflection. It was like watching a giant dog whine and bark at a mirror. Scared at something that couldn't hurt him. But then he burst into laughter, handing the mirror back to Eguchi as he put on of his meaty hands onto his chest. "You were right! This is so much fun! I'll have to let you do my make up more often."

"I would really appreciate that." Eguchi said as she gingerly held the mirror. She paused before moving over to Sato. Now this was something that was harder for Himura to swallow. The change had almost made Himura uneasy. When Eguchi handed the mirror to the tall racer, the loud laugh really helped the barista remember who was under all that makeup.

"Hay! You made me look just like Souda-Sensei! I look just like him! Holy shit!" Sato said, prying one of her fingers into the side of her mouth to stretch it open, giving everyone an even better look at the shark like teeth that lined her mouth now. Thick eyeliner around her eyes helped shape them like the narrow eyes of the mechanic. Not to mention she'd perfectly mimicked his hair, tucking Sato's into the hat and creating one, little braid down the side. Sato even had the weird, pink eyes of the teacher, more beady than Himura had ever seen the racer's eyes, but definitely matched that of the teacher.

"We have to go scare him!" Sato said, jumping to her feet and whipping her head towards the motivational speaker. "Come with me, Sugai, together we'll give Souda quite the fright!"

"Sounds like fun to me!" He said as he hopped to his feet, brushing himself off before the two raced out of the door. Himura couldn't help but quietly send Souda his best wishes since the teacher was about to witness quite the nightmare.

The group watched as the students left the room, leaving Eguchi behind, chuckling softly to herself. For now, Himura just had to imagine what was happening to the poor teacher.

"So, who's next?" Eguchi questioned, looking over the group with a soft smile as she waited for the next person to volunteer. Himura couldn't help but think back to the times he's spent with Eguchi and how emotionless she usually appeared. Now she had a smile and even though it was only a very slight smile… it felt good to see his friend having such a good time.

"I think Himura should go next." Kaito remarked from his spot where he was still spinning in the extra chair. "I want to see what you'll make that big teddy bear look like."

"I-uh, I don't know," Himura shifted in his seat, unsure of what Eguchi would do to his face. But when he saw how excited Eguchi looked at just the idea, he found himself standing to his feet. "Just keep it light, okay, I don't want to have to scrub my face later."

As Himura walked over and sat in the chair, Eguchi picked something up and slipped it into Himura's pocket. "There, those are some makeup wipes. They'll get any amount of makeup off easily, even if it's been sealed."

Himura paused as she went to grab her brushes. At least he'd have an easy way to get whatever she put on his face off. Taking a deep breath, he leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes so that Eguchi could get to work. He couldn't help but think back to when Eguchi had prepped him to look nicer, less depressed. Right now was like that moment, just more intense. He could feel the soft contact with her brushes as she patted a small powder onto his skin.

"What's that powder for?" Iris asked, leaning forward from her seat on the bed to get a better look.

"Oh, This?" Eguchi held up the round cylinder forward for everyone to peaked just in time to see it. The label on the container was in dark, bold letters. Almost like something you'd see on the cover of a monster movie. "This is a special base I created. It holds makeup better than most of the creams plus it doesn't clog your pores. And even more fortunately it helps me stick silicone to my subjects' faces."

"Woah, you have your own foundation?" Niijima asked, her voice seemed easy to miss within the group.

"Not just my own foundation," Eguchi responded again, moving back to Himura just as he closed his eyes again, "I have my own makeup line. A lot of people use my brand, _Eguchi's Horror Show_."

"Quite the name." Himura commented as he felt a feather brush run below his cheek bone.

"Yeah, publisher's advised against that name, they said it might be taken the wrong way. I told them I didn't care. I wanted to keep it true to what I do for a living." She kept working and Himura tried not to flinch as she got really close to his eye.

"Gotta stay on brand!" Koba joked as Himura could hear him flop back on Eguchi's bed, the scientist was probably extremely bored at this point. He doubted his peer could sit still for more than five minutes.

Eguchi chuckled anyways, placing something onto Himura's face. "Yeah, exactly."

"I know I've always used your makeup." Kaito remarked from his seat, his voice causing Himura to shudder slightly. He was still trying to process the events from yesterday. "It's honestly one of the best brands in the world."

"Much appreciated, Kaito." Eguchi said. Then everyone let her get back to work. Himura almost felt like he could fall asleep as this process took place. Eguchi worked lightly, not needing too much participation from Himura to finish her work. After what felt like a few minutes, she patted Himura on the shoulder, signalling him to open his eyes as she handed him a small mirror.

Himura looked into the mirror, pausing for a long moment to take in the new look that appeared in the mirror. He hadn't really expected this at all.

In the mirror there was some kind of punk. He had even darker rings around his eyes, sinking deep into the skin. His face looked dark and foreboding, like he knew something he was never going to tell. His face consisted of small, little cuts all over, including a long, thin scar that ran over one of his eyes. Himura found himself staring for longer than he expected. This face…. This face looked like he had it in him to kill someone.

"Himura, what do you think?" Himura suddenly looked up, broken from his trance like state as Eguchi leaned forward, a slight smile on her lips. Slowly Himura realized how strange his train of thought was, but it still took him awhile to recover.

"I think it's cool." Himura said, handing the mirror to his friend before hesitating. "I need to get some coffee. I'll see you guys later, okay?"

"Sure thing, Himura." Eguchi responded as she watched her friend go to leave. Looking slightly worried as she glanced around the room.

Kusonoki hoped to her feet, as if she was suddenly remembering something. "Himura, we were going to have a party later in the cafe, will you come?"

"Yeah… Of course." Himura responded, giving a slow nod before heading back to his room. It was weird, suddenly he felt light headed and numb. He had a vague idea why, reading the secret on that note was digging a grave for him. It was like quicksand, slowly causing him to sink deeper and deeper into the ground. The whole thing as if he was sinking into his depression more than usual. If he wasn't careful, this would consume him.

For now though, he was going to enjoy a few cups of coffee. Maybe some time by himself would make him feel a little better. Doubtful… since being alone left him to drench himself in his own thoughts as they continuously sank deeper and deeper into his brain like nails being hammered down deep. But he also couldn't stay around everyone like this. It only made them more concerned. He couldn't do that to them. He couldn't make them worry about him constantly.

Once he was back in his own room, he started up a pot of coffee. He most likely had a few hours before this party started. So until then, all he had to do was sit back and relax. To take a deep breath and try to chase away all these dark clouds in his head. Try to focus on anything positive to get him away from the darkness looming in his mind.

The positive he let himself sit on as he went into his bathroom to wash off all of the makeup was the idea that they had avoided the murder this time around. That was something that lessened the tense feeling of his muscles. With that, he could let out a long, drawn out sigh. This time around it seemed as if they showed Monokuma that he couldn't make anyone into a murderer.

* * *

"Oh, Makoto, welcome back. I'm guessing you didn't find any dead bodies?" Komaeda questioned the headmaster as he reached the top of the stairs. Making eye contact with the slightly ruffled teacher as he stopped to talk with him.

"No, Thankfully no one seems like they were hurt… But I did find a bunch of new files in the Teacher's Room on your desk." Makoto started as he adjusted the pile of folders in his arms, obviously trying not to drop them. "I've been trying to figure out who put them there… It couldn't have been Monokuma because he was angry when he found out I had it."

"That is really interesting." Komaeda stated, suddenly extremely interested what was inside of those folders. "Do you mind if I take a look?"

"Yeah, sure." Makoto saud as he handed the folders over to the white haired teacher. Komaeda did notice slight hesitance in the other teacher's actions, as if he wasn't fully sure it was a good idea. That was nothing new, no one trusted him. "I think Monokuma took the only page that will be useful to us. I'm pretty sure the rest of this is garbage."

"You're probably right," Komaeda said as he gently took the folders from the headmaster, "I doubt the Ultimate Hope would miss anything and that someone as worthless as me would find something new in these folders."

"Well, I wouldn't say that," Makoto remarked, looking even more uncomfortable now, "I miss a lot of things."

Komaeda shrugged, turning to go into his room. "Oh, of course."

Seeing no need to continue the conversation, Komaeda ducked into his room. Tossing the folders onto his small table before sitting down next to it. Quietly, he flipped it open, peeking inside to witness the contents first hand. While he didn't want to admit it, he doubted Naegi had picked up every single clue these folders held within. Someone had to go lengths to get these to them, but who could do that? Had one of the students already found a way into private areas of the school? That sounded extremely unlikely, but what other options where there.

Plus the fact that it was on his desk, maybe Komaeda was the one who was meant to see this folder. Contents gathered that only he would understand. That sounded logical.

He only had to flip through the pages of the Student Records for a few moments before he founded exactly what he needed to prove this was for him. Naegi had said this folder was useless but in truth… it was packed full of information that was extremely useful. Taking mental notes of everything he should come back to, pressing them into the space in his mind like small, brightly colored sticky notes. Trying to put these new pieces together with all of the old ones.

After a thorough search of the Student Records, Komaeda moved over to the other folder. It was some sort of case file. As he opened it, he thumbed through it, realizing that this was too a murder case. While he couldn't remember the exact event, he remembered the location and most of the names within the folder. It was filled with evidence and suspects. Pictures of the victim and the crime scene littered the very back page of the folder. Komaeda wasn't sure how this was immediately relevant to being trapped inside of this school, but something in his gut told him that they might need it eventually.

He was about to really get into the details when his bedroom door suddenly opened. One of his students walking into the room.

"Sorry to bother you, Komaeda-Sensei." They said, their voice soft as they spoke. "I just really needed to talk to someone."

Komaeda paused, he had completely forgotten that his students could access his room whenever they wanted. He was fairly willing to help them, though, as they were the future of this world. If he could provide them help in this world it was something he'd gladly accept without hesitance. He closed up the folder, sliding it to the center of the table as he moved his attention to the student.

"Come on in," Komaeda told them, watching as they took a seat near the table, "is there anything you need?"

"Could I get a glass of water?" They asked, staring down at the table, looking a bit nervous.

Komaeda nodded, going to the kitchen to fetch a tall glass of water for the student. Wondering what could be wrong. They seemed so concerned. Well, no matter what, time would tell what was wrong with them. For now, it seemed as if he just needed to sit down and listen to his student's problems. Maybe he could actually help them.

* * *

"Hey Pal! You ready to go?" A loud pounding sounded on Himura's door as the voice called out to him. "It's time to go to that party!"

Himura walked to the door, tugging his apron back on before opening it up. He wasn't surprised at all to see Sugai on the other side of the door, The towering figure looking down on the small barista. "Hey, Sugai."

"Hey Himura! Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Himura tried to joke, but it fell kind of flat. The whole line sounding more like an exasperated comment.

"Oh Himura, you just need a good ol' confidence boost!" Sugai said, smacking Himura on his back and causing his skin to sting for a few moments.

"I need a lot more than confidence." Himura joked as he tried to recover from the sharp pain in his back.

Sugai laughed and the two started their walk to the third floor. Their conversation continued as they made their way to the cafe. Sugai didn't seem like the kind of person to stay silent for a long period of time.

"Confidence can take you a long way. Though I know it only works in short bursts for some people. Trust me, I've worked with a lot of people like you." Sugai stated, his eyes glued more on Himura than where they were walking.

"What do you mean by _people like me?_ " Himura asked, though he had a looming fear he knew just what the speaker was going to say. He'd heard it a million times from adults when he was younger, actually, he heard it from most people who tried to get close to him. _People like him_ usually referred to _sad people._ Sad people who just needed to be happy and their whole world would be better. They were all obviously people who had no idea what they were talking about. No idea what it was like to be depressed. _It was more than just sad._

"People with depression." Sugai said, almost catching Himura off guard. Though he still wavered a little bit, unsure of where to go next with this. "I've helped a lot of people with depression in my line of work. Face to Face meetings where I help them realize all of the good stuff they've done their entire lives. They lack a lot of motivation, so just a little help can be monumental."

Himura paused, staring him down for a little bit before smiling a little. "Oh yeah? And that usually helped them?"

"Sometimes, everyone's different. But I know some of them were really moved by my words. It meant a lot to some of them to hear that there was nothing wrong with them, that they didn't need to force change. That they just needed help sometimes and that's fine."

"That… sounds like a nice thing to hear." Himura said, still staring at the large speaker. Part of him wished he could have heard that growing up. That all the families he had lived with had realized the same thing. That there was nothing _wrong_ with him. That he just needed them to understand… He wondered if he would be a different person if he'd been told that earlier in his life instead of what he normally heard. Instead of all of the rejection he faced in his life. "How do you stay so confident, even in a place like this?"

"Haha! That's a good question my friend!" He shouted, clenching his fist as they reached the second floor. He paused, looking around to make sure there was no one else around to hear them before his strong, sharp features melted away. "I don't. I'm terrified. I'm so scared that all my friends will die. That I'll die. That I could have helped one of my friends before they turn on eachother. That I'll be to late to save someone important to me."

"Really…?"

"Of course! Even though I seem like a pretty hardy guy, I'm always afraid I'll fail, pal. I've never had much confidence in myself but when I see people suddenly inspired by what I say, it helps me keep going. It's my job to walk people through the hard parts of their life. To assist them as they walk over shaky ground until they get to something more solid. If I missed the signs and let one of my friends slip through the cracks, I don't know what I'd do. I've already let it happen twice but I cannot let it happen again. I have to be useful, just like you are!"

"Me?" Himura was a little surprised by that last part, watching as tears welled up in the corners of the tall man's eyes. His fists clenched so tight that the veins were popping out near his knuckles.

"Yes! I've seen how you inspire everyone. You make them feel safe. I've seen it in their eyes, hell I've felt it! Everyone knows that as long as you're here, we will find a way out alive."

"I-I had no idea. I don't even know why they would think that." Himura questioned, startled at the idea that he carried so much on his shoulders.

"Thank you. I would have given up without you here, pal." Sugai said as the reached the cafe, stopping outside for just a moment. "We all would have died in that first trial without you."

Without waiting for a response, Sugai pulled the door open. The second the wood peeled from the frame, music came blasting from inside. Strange, techno remixes of songs Himura had heard before. The barista looked around to see the dimmed lights with smaller lights flashing around the room. His peaceful cafe had been remade into a noisy club. He saw some of his classmates in the room already, dancing and having a good time with each other as they enjoyed the strange, but enjoyable music.

Himura had heard Niijima DJ before, she had control of the music during their beach party. But now she was really laying down her own music. All these songs were most likely created by her, when before they were current pop songs. These felt more fitting in the dark coffee shop turned club. They were songs meant to be danced to.

Himura took another moment to see who was with who. Kusonoki was up on the small stage with Niijima, the two giggling to each other. Then there was Bellerose, the chef was setting out perfectly made snacks over the table. Prepared as if they were at some five star restaurant. Sweeney was sitting off in one of the far corners, sitting alone and looking as if he was forced to come. Sato was dancing with Eguchi near the stage. Close by was Luna and Iris, the two seemed to be chatting about something. Everyone looked like they were having a good time. Himura just barely realised that someone was missing from this party. Where was-

Suddenly the door swung open from behind them as Koba came rushing into the room. His neon clothes lighting up in the dark lights of the room, making the skater look almost other worldly. He looked a little worried but his face quickly twisted into a large, beaming grin. "Got a radical blow out blasting in 'ere! Can't believe I was late! Ya excited for this, homie?"

"I'm not a big fan of parties." Himura suggested, distracted at how much Koba glowed in the black lite. "Why were you late?"

"Huh? Oh, had a convo with someone. Took longer than I expected." Koba confessed before looking around. Whatever it had been about, Koba didn't want to discuss it any further. Already moving on to the next thing. "Shoot! Look at all those snacks! I'm so hungry!"

Himura watched as Koba raced off towards the snack table. Watching Bellerose's face suddenly covered in a curtain of annoyance as Koba scarfed down the food in front of him. All of her hard work prepping seemed wasted as the hungry storm of Koba's greedy hands trampled over the plates.

The party was okay, Himura found himself making coffee most of the night, making simple, sweet drinks for his friends as the night went on. It didn't seem to take long for his friends to get bored. Slowly dispersing from the party one by one. The first to leave was Sweeney. The tattoo artist just seemed annoyed by the entire get together. Himura didn't really understand why he even bothered to come. Then Iris, Luna, Sato and Bellerose all left together, heading back to their rooms in a group soon after the nighttime announcement sounded through the room. Koba ended up falling asleep at one of the tables pretty late into the night. Himura spent those few minutes trying to decide if it was just too late for the scientist to be awake or if he had a crash from the 6 cups of sugary coffee he had drank. Either way, Kaito was nice enough to carry him back to his room for the night.

It was getting extremely late when Niijima finally cut the music, hopping down from her spot in the stage and slipping her music mixing robo arm back into the long sleeve of her crop top. She walked over with Kusonoki to the rest of the group that was left.

"Well, I'm calling it a night. Anyone else coming?" Niijima asked, glancing over the four other students.

"I think I'm going to stay a little longer." Himura said as he stirred the straw of his iced coffee. "I just want to take some silent time and drink in peace."

"Sounds fair to me," Niijima said softly as she glanced around, "anyone else?"

"I'll walk ya back, pal." Sugai offered, taking a step towards the DJ.

"I'll come too." Eguchi yawned as she walked over to the group. "It is getting pretty late."

"What about you, Akumu?" Niijima asked, looking over Kusonoki with a slightly worried gaze.

"I think I'll stay here for a little bit." The investigator finally said, glancing over at Himura for a moment before looking back towards the departing group. "A cup of coffee sounds really nice."

"Alright! Good night everyone!" Sugai was almost shouting as he went to walk the two girls back to their rooms.

"Wait… um Sugai?" Kusonoki said, lightly grabbing the large student's hand before he got too far away.

"What is it, pal?" Sugai questioned, turning around to face the much smaller girl.

"Uh… just make sure they get back to their rooms okay, please?" She let go of his hand, letting the three of them leave the room.

"Sure thing, anything for a friend." He smiled as the three of them departed.

That just left Kusonoki and Himura, the two where now alone in the cafe. Silence followed for a few moments before Himura made them both a nice, warm cup of coffee. For a moment, this was just like the first night they had spent together. Sharing a nice cup of coffee as the two of them just talked. It was a peaceful way to end the night…

* * *

Koba pulled himself out of bed, his mouth was dirt dry once again. It felt like he had wiped out in the sand, all of it pouring into his mouth on impact. Looking around, he had no idea how he'd gotten back in his room. The last thing he remembered was being at the party. Quietly he wondered who'd been nice enough to carry him all the way back. Even more quietly he hoped it had been Iris.

As Koba got his glass of water from the kitchen, he realized something horrifying. He left his skateboard up at the party. Sighing, he knew he had to grab that right away! What was he supposed to do without his prized possession. Quickly he turned and bolted up the stairs, heading back towards the cafe.

Once he reached the third floor, a heavy feeling washed over him. Something felt… wrong. The Hall was darker than normal. His gut slowly started to clench as the nauseating silence washed over him.

He tried to brush it off as paranoia. It was something that could easily be triggered in a place like this, dark halls that they may never escape from. A place where they're being forced to try and kill their friends. He just had to take a deep breath. To try and relax and let the fresh air in his lungs loosen his muscles.

The breaths only seemed to make things worse. The air was stale, with a tinge of something familiar in it. The small difference was making goosebumps run over his pale skin. Whatever that small addition was, it was causing his entire body to go on alert. He couldn't recall why but something about this hall felt forbiddingly familiar.

He paused as he saw a small, bright splash of pink on the ground in the hallway. He froze. There was a small chance it _wasn't_ blood. Some of Himura's drinks had brightly colored pinks, so maybe someone had spilt one of their cups. It was a hopeful thought, though something inside Koba knew that couldn't be true. He'd seen fresh blood enough in his life to know what it looks like.

Koba took a few more steps forward, walking slowly towards the cafe. He was afraid of what would be inside. He was afraid he'd find more than just his skateboard inside. Slowly he pushed the door open, only to be greeted by the overwhelming smell of iron.

His head was spinning as he looked around the cafe. His eyes trying to find anything out of the ordinary, praying that he wouldn't find anything wrong with the room, that he wouldn't find any dead bodies. But it was hard to miss the slumped over body in the center of the room, blood splattered all over the front of their shirt and apron.

Koba felt his breath hitch as he ran over to Himura. There was no way the barista was dead. He couldn't die… not like this and not here. How were they supposed to solve cases without his help. He'd seen through everyone's traps in the previous cases when everyone else was blinded. What were they supposed to do without the barista know. As he reached his side, he couldn't help but notice the bloody knife in the Barista's hand.

As he stared down, he noticed another body not too far from the Barista. His eyes were open, the pale, red eyes lifeless as the pink goo flowed from his body like a fancy fountain. The pure white suit was splattered with the stuff as it ran free from the large, thick gap in the Motivational Speakers throat. Sugai was leaned up against the wall across from the Barista, almost directly behind the counter.

Koba found himself next to the speaker in a blink of an eye. He didn't even remember walking over there, the in between steps were all just a blur. He stared down at the dead body for just a few moments. Just in time to see the trail of blood leaving the back room of the cafe. Swallowing hard, he took a few steps towards the back of the room, stepping over Sugai so he could get to the room behind the barista stand. That's when he saw it, the last straw in all of this. Something finally snapping in the back of his mind and causing tears to well up in his eyes. She was rested against a few of the bigger bags of the beans. Kusonoki had been stabbed several times, blood covering every inch of this room. Whoever did this there was a personal grudge behind this.

Koba didn't even notice the morning announcement when it went off. He couldn't comprehend the fact that three people were dead. Three of his friends, dead in this very room. But, who could have done this. How could this ever happen. His feet couldn't move, weighed down by what he saw in front of him. The blood that covered the entire room made his head spin.

Suddenly the door burst open, Kaito racing into the room. The tall, stick like man's eyes quickly glued onto Himura. Koba watched with a hazy head as the actor looked around, staring down Koba for just a moment before dropping to his knees next to Himura, scooping him up into his arms without a moment to spare. Koba watched in horror as the Actor's eyes showed the pure panic in his face, quickly looking over Himura when-

" _A body has been discovered! Investigation is now underway! Gather all the information you can and prepare for the Class Trial!"_

With fear in his eyes, Koba stared down Kaito, hoping that the Actor could fix all of this. But he felt a sudden burst of confusion when he saw the actor let out a sigh of relief. He looked up, making eye contact with Koba before speaking. Giving Koba only a small amount of relief.

" _Himura's okay. He's alive."_


	13. Detective Fumio Kobayashi Is On The Case

Koba's head was still trying to wrap itself around the brutal scene that was laid out in front of him. The smell of blood swirled in his lungs like a hurricane, ready to tear everything apart in a matter of seconds. But to every storm, there is a center of calm. Right now, the fact that Himura was alive, that was a sense of hope. He could feel a bright light shine from the center of the storm, showing like a beacon to anyone who may feel lost. The light only got stronger when Himura slowly sat up.

"Wh-What happened?" He mumbled, rubbing his head before his eyes zipped around the room. "What's that sm-"

" _A body has been discovered! Investigation is now underway! Gather all the information you can and prepare for the Class Trial!"_

Koba saw it, the moment Himura's eyes locked onto the lifeless corpse of Sugai. Terror ran through his body in a heavy shudder. The barista's eyes dilated, showing the terror in his face as they began to quake. The door to the cafe suddenly burst open as the rest of the classmates came in, all of them looking around in desperate need to figure out which of their friends were no longer on this planet.

Himura was trembling as he suddenly stood to his feet, his entire body shaking as if an earthquake had erupted inside of his core. He slowly raised his hand, slowly turning his head to look at the bloody knife clenched in his hand, only to drop it onto the ground. Pink droplets splattering from the contact with the ground.

Whispers spread through the newly entered students like wild fire. Koba knew what they were thinking. But how could any of them think that about their friend. They had to know that it was some kind of mistake or accident. Himura would never k-

The teachers pushed themselves through the group of students. Their eyes locking on the mess instantly. Souda came through last, the teacher suddenly getting a blank, desolate look on his face for a moment. He was about to collapse when Sato appeared from the group, helping her teacher from the room as the memories wrecked his mind.

No one could see Kusonoki from the door, so at the moment, Gundam was free from his memory lapse. Komaeda and Makoto took a step towards Himura, both of them looking at the blood splattered student with worry. Koba thought he saw a flash of something else in the teacher's eyes. A moment where it looked as if Naegi might know something the rest of them had missed.

"Himura… what happened?" Naegi asked, taking a few steps towards the barista. "Are you hurt? Do you know who did this?"

Himura's head whipped around so fast Koba thought he might have broken his neck. His eyes still wide, trembling with fear as he spoke. All of the words were mashed together, a jumbled mess of speaking. Something inside the Barista had snapped.

" _Isn't it obvious, Naegi?"_ Himura questioned as he looked the teacher down, his gaze seemed to hover, clouding everyone around him with more doubt. A dark feeling slowly crept up Koba's entire body. " _I killed Sugai and Kusonoki… I killed my own friends."_

A loud gasp sounded throughout the room, students slowly started to step out of the room. It was like watching an animal back away from a fierce predator. A moment of silence filled the air, almost suffocating how silent everyone was as they stared on in fear.

"D-did you say Akumu was dead?" Niijima had suddenly pushed herself to the front of the group, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Himura nodded, a ragged breath escaping his trembling jaw before he pointed to the back room. "She's in there… she'll have stabs to the stomach and she'll be leaned against the coffee bags in there…"

Niijima covered her mouth, hiding a terrified shriek as she suddenly turned her head towards Koba. Her suddenly wide eyes almost asking him for an answer. Koba couldn't respond… he couldn't move. Watching in horror as Niijima started to head towards the back room, rounding the counter and stepping over Sugai's lifeless corpse. Gundam followed her, his face stern as he followed her into the back room.

Koba saw both of their faces twist into horror when they saw the young student. Niijima let out a cry, fleeing back towards the door as tears fell down her face. Near the entrance, she was met by Sato, the tall racer returned by the sound of the scream. She reached out, gingerly placing a hand on Niijima's shoulder and gently comforting her.

"I'll take her back to her room. We'll be useless investigating anyways." Sato remarked, her voice shaking as she gingerly wrapped an arm around the DJ's shoulder to support her from falling.

"Now isn't the time for you to be trying to pick up chicks." Bellerose hissed, looking slightly disgusted from her spot, crossing her arms as she watched the racer.

"What the fuck is wrong with ya? I'm not a heartless monster like you. She needs help so I'm taking her back to her room before she throws up." Sato snarled, her voice shaky but stern. Whatever Bellerose was trying to dish out to the racer, she wasn't about to take it. Without waiting for a response, she escorted Niijima out of the room. It was the slowest Koba had ever seen the Racer move.

Koba did have a hard time looking away from the teacher, however. He had to set back, reaching to grasp onto the counter to support himself. The heterochromatic eyes of the teacher glossed over. Gundam Tanaka must have been seeing the memories too. It sounded like a nightmare.

Not long after Niijima left, Hajime walked over, placing a hand on Gundam's shoulder and walking the teacher out of the room. He knew what it was like to be devastated by these flash backs. The toy maker and the Vegan had been his student, after all.

Soon the room felt pretty empty, a lot of the students looking bewildered near the door. Silence had overtaken the entire room as everyone just… was frozen. Until finally Kaito spoke up. His voice calm and song like, even in this horrible disaster.

"Looks like it's time to investigate, right Him-" The actor spoke. Going to put his hand on the Barista's shoulder. A gentle smile on his face until Himura smacked his hand away, keeping it far away from his shoulder.

"Don't you get it." Himura growled, his bangs resting over his eyes, shadowing his tired eyes from the judgement of the room. Slowly they peered through, bright, pale daggers staring through the dark shade of his bangs. "There's nothing to investigate. I. Killed. Them."

"Hi-"

"Shut up! Why are you talking to me? I _**Killed two of our friends!"**_ Before anyone had a chance to respond, Himura darted out of the room, storming out quickly. All of the students ran out of the Barista's way, afraid to even make eye contact with the other student.

Kaito paused, looking shocked as he watched Himura leave the room. Soon, the students left as well, unnerved and upset as they started to leave the room. There was a moment of silence before Kaito's voice broke the silence once again.

Just then, the horrible sound of the devil broke the silence as the monochromatic bear rose up from the floor. "Good evening everyone! I hope you're all super excited!"

"How could we ever be excited for this?" Koba questioned, a bit startled by the bear's response.

"Because it's a double murder this time! Two people died at once, how is that not exciting?" Monokuma responded as if that was a sound answer to his question. That the fact their friends were dead was meant to be exciting. "Anyways! I have what you've all been waiting for! The glorious, amazing, _**Monokuma File**_!"

The bear handed out the new murder files. Giving every student a low detailed file, otherwise known as the Monokuma file. They were so purposefully blank that they irritated the scientist. Who takes such petite notes? With a sigh, he decided to look them over anyways.

 _The Victims of this case are Akumu Kusonoki and Mitsuharu Sugai. Both victims died from excessive bleeding._

Once again, just as vague as every. The bear smiled, watching as everyone slowly glanced over his file before staring down the knife that had dropped from Himura's hand earlier, than back to their case files. More tension seemed to fill the air as Monokuma let out his ear peircing laugh.

"Well, looks like this next trial will be super easy! Too bad, I was really looking forward to something exciting." Weirdly enough, the bear didn't seem too upset by this fact. Usually he was constantly complaining about how _boring_ they all were. "I guess I'll just have to humor myself by watching

Kazuichi suffer!"

And with that, the bear vanished. Leaving the group behind to stare at the bloody mess laid out in front of them. Koba set his file aside, ready to officially start the investigation. Though as he looked up, most of the students were turning to leave the crime scene behind.

"Where are you all going?" Kaito barked, looking at all of the other students with a judging gaze. "We have to investigate and find out who the killer is."

"We already know who the killer is, Himura just confessed." Sweeney said, shrugging as he left with the group.

"And you're all going to take that at face value? No questions asked?" Kaito growled, sounding more frustrated with his classmates with every moment that passed.

"We took Yunokawa's word without asking any questions." Iris said from the back of the group, trailing behind the rest as the conflicted look washed over her soft, round face. "Besides… why would Himura lie?"

The group was gone, leaving Kaito, Koba, Komaeda, and Naegi alone in the room with the dead bodies.

"Well, I'm going to investigate the other rooms on the floor." Komaeda stated, not waiting for a response before leaving the room. "I'll be on this floor if you need me."

"Ryuunosuke, are you okay? We ca-" Naegi said, taking a step closer before the actor suddenly went back to his sparkling, calm self.

"Please, Naegi, I'm always fantastic. Why don't you run off and check on your students." Kaito pulled a rose from his shirt, placing it over his nose as he spoke quietly. "I just want you to leave me alone."

The headmaster hesitated. A look of uncertainty washed over him as he seemed unsure of what to do for a moment. Not really saying anything before sighing and exiting the room.

Koba didn't have any time to think about what was going on. No time to even try to process the events that had unfolded in the last few minutes. Before Koba could have the chance to shuffle through his own thoughts, the actor's tan face was already leaned over the counter, growing closer to Kobayashi's.

"Looks like it's just you and me now, darlin'." Kaito let out a dramatic sigh, pressing the rose against his chest before biting his bottom lip.

"Huh?"

"Huh? Darling don't fuck with me. I know you're not dumb enough to fall for this obvious set up." Kaito groaned.

"You think someone set Himura up to look like the murderer?"

"Duh," Kaito seemed as if he was trying his hardest not to lose his mind, obviously frustrated beyond belief at this point. "Listen, you're going to help me prove Himura is innocent. You're the only person here with half a brain for detective work. Frankly someone like me can't solve this on my own."

Koba felt like he was being threatened. As if he didn't have another choice but to help the actor. It didn't really matter though, since he knew Himura wouldn't have killed someone so brutally. The barista had been so dedicated to his friends… he knew he couldn't have killed someone like this.

"Don't worry, we'll figure this out." Koba promised before looking around. "But why do you think he admitted to the crime? Why would he do that if he's innocent?"

"I… I don't know." Kaito said, tucking the rose back into his shirt as he went to fold his arms under his chest. "We will have to ask him later."

Koba nodded, taking a mental note that they'd have to try and get some answers from the Barista later. Hopefully by then he'd be more open to talking. Maybe Himura wouldn't say he was the killer by then.

"So, which body should we investigate first?" Kaito asked, moving to stand by Koba's side like some sidekick.

Koba groaned, for some reason, he completely forgot he was going to have to take a close look at the bodies. He swallowed down the hard knot in his throat. The last thing he wanted to do was get close to his friends' corpses. But someone needed to do this. Himura wasn't here to protect them this time. If he didn't suck it up, swallow down the bile rising in his throat and investigate then him and all of his friends would all die. He couldn't let that happen… Not to Iris. Not to anyone.

Koba kneeled down next to Sugai. It was strange, his brain suddenly removed the fact that his friend's corpse was laid out in front of him. Instead it was a slate for him to thoroughly investigate. It was something he had to do, not just for his friends who were alive, but for Sugai and Kusonoki as well. Whoever killed them couldn't get away with this heinous crime.

"See anything strange?" Kaito asked, tilting his head a bit as his long, red strands of hair rolled off his shoulder.

"Well, _**The main wound I see is the cut on his throat.**_ " Koba observed it out loud. The only wound Koba could visibly see was the long gash in his throat. The wound had obviously gushed blood down his chest. However, blood also trickled down the corner of his mouth as his face was trapped in an expression of terror.

"Well that was present in the last murder, too." Kaito responded, pulling out a round monocle from his shirt and placing it over his eye. "So does that mean the body was moved?"

Koba rubbed his jaw as he thought. The facts he was gathering stacking together in the front of his memory, everything else was put on hold. "I don't know yet… _**But I don't think anyone could move him very far**_."

"Good point. Sugai was a real big boy." Kaito remarked as he tucked the monocle back into his shirt.

Koba nodded, trying to find another item that might stick out the him. His clothes were fairly flat on his body, the only thing that was off about them was the fact that they were now neon pink. Sugai's usually well greased _**hair was ruffled**_ , however, pushed out from the center towards the sides. Koba looked over the speakers large hands. While blood was splattered over the rest of his body, a few drops even making it to the inside of his wrists, _**the**_ _**palm of his hand was completely clean**_.

Koba stood up from the body, moving away for a moment to go examine the next body. Kaito stood up too, glancing from the body to Koba before following after the skater.

Just stepping into the back room made Koba feel nauseous for a moment. His head spinning before he carefully dropped to his knees. It was so jarring, he'd just seen her alive last night. Now, the investigator's were open and glossed over, staring blankly into the distance as her body was riddled with wounds from the knife. Koba tried to find anything that stuck out, but most of the details of the body were covered in a heavy layer of blood. Koba counted at least five stab wounds in the girl's stomach, just like Himura said there would be. But then he noticed _**a strange tear in her clothes around the wounds**_. They seemed like fairly even cuts in the fabric. Actually, the strange rip was around every one of the wounds.

Koba watched as Kaito leaned forward, the actor's slender fingers going through the girl's purple hair. They ran up, gently stopping near her scalp. Pulling his hand away, the tips of the Actor's fingers were covered in blood.

"Wh- Why did you do that?" Koba questioned, unsure of what possessed the actor to run his fingers through a dead girl's hair.

"I saw something glossy on her scalp." Kaito explained, weirdly calm as he wiped the blood off on a nearby counter.

" _ **So she has blood on her scalp**_." Koba noted, wondering if the blood had splashed up onto her head. Weirdly enough, there blood was on the back of her head. There was no way it splashed up into that location.

That seemed to be the only thing Koba could really grasp about the body. Nothing else really seemed to stand out to him about her body. He rubbed his neck, trying to fit some of the new pieces together. Unfortunately none of them seemed to stick together yet. Glancing over at Kaito, Koba gently spoke.

"Any ideas?" Koba asked.

"I'm all beauty and no brains, hun. That's why I needed _your_ help." Kaito remarked before strolling to the other side of the room. Koba couldn't be bothered to pay too much attention to the actor at this very moment. Instead he turned back towards the mess at his feet.

Koba sighed, unsure of where to examine next. Slowly he walked over to where Himura had been found. Trying to find something suspicious about the bloody puddle and knife that the barista had risen from like some sort of undead monster. Koba squatted near the spot, looking at the thin puddle of blood that had dripped off of the Barista's body. From what Koba had seen of the barista, he a few minor cuts and bruises dotting his body. _**They were obvious signs of a struggle**_. But not nearly enough wounds to cause this much blood. The most likely source of all that blood was from the two other students in the room. But even then…

Koba rubbed his jaw, confused on exactly what was going on. He walked around the room for a moment, trying to find anything else that he might have missed. Everything was just going back to the bloody murder that had poured all over this once peaceful cafe.

Koba went to take a step out of the room, only to hear a loud crack as he took a step away. Quickly the skater hopped away, lifting up his foot to show the mess that had been crushed under his foot as a mess of chocolate and beans spread under his step. Looking around on the ground, Koba saw _**the ground near Kusonoki's body had chocolate covered mocha beans scattered around**_. Looking around, Koba tried to find a bag that was torn open during a scuffle. However, much to his dismay, none of the other bags were open. Most of them didn't even look touched except for a few that were scattered with blood.

"Where should we look next?" Kaito asked, and slowly Koba came to the understanding that they had found everything there was to find in this room. The scientist tried to comb his mind for some other information they still needed. Still, the answers didn't really seem to combine in his brain, just big, detached pieces of information. He just needed to find a way to stitch them together, a piece to glue all of these big chunks together.

"Let's go talk to Himura." Koba stated, taking a moment to hug himself before taking a long, deep breath. "Let's find out why he confessed to the murder."

* * *

Komaeda watched the students head down the stairs from the cafe as he ducked back into the Teachers' Room. He knew that Monokuma would never provide them with unnecessary information. Even if it wasn't Junko, whoever was pulling the strings wanted a game. Giving the subjects of their game false information would lead to a quick end to their fun. No, there was definitely a planned reason for these files.

And now, it was all starting to make sense. Komaeda was almost certain he already knew who the killer is. But at the moment, he was split on what to do about of it. One part of him wanted to tell Hajime. The other teacher would know exactly how to handle the situation. The trial would be over in seconds of he told exactly what he knew. Nagito wanted to go home… the two of them needed to get home as soon as possible. But another part of him wanted to test the students of the school. To see how they panned out as the brand new hopes that this world truly needed.

Their place in this world was so important. The world needed them to be as strong as possible. So far, they seemed smarter than his class had been, as if they have more competent students on their team. Or was that a ruse? Was a blinded by his own hope for their success? Maybe the fact that they were even in here was a sign they had already failed.

A hunk of Nagito's mind felt like mush, like a vegetable rotten on the inside. But the rot was slowly finding it's way to the outside, trying to tear open the thick skin hiding the irreversible destruction inside. It was luck he was alive this long, he should have died years before this. But instead, he made it to see another killing game, watching in silence as more children died before him. Worthless filth like him wasn't supposed to he in charge of such important children. He should have never become a teacher.

There was a reason he had started as a scout, one that Komaeda knew very well. He had pretended like he hadn't noticed, for Hajime's sake, but the teacher was the only reason he'd been able to get a job at the school. There was no way Naegi would hire a worthless, pathetic man like Komaeda. Hajime said he didn't have to beg him but Komaeda knew that was a lie. Every part of him knew that no one in their right mind would let someone as talentless as Komaeda into the school. Why would anyone ever trust him in teaching students that were so important in the world's future. It was why Komaeda was only a recruiter, anything to keep him out of the school as long as possible.

Komaeda slipped back into his office chair, only able to recognize it from his nameplate glued to one of the corners. He leaned over the folder as he went to dig through the information buried away in the contents. Though Nagito already knew the entire premise of the murder mystery written inside these pages. An event that happened during the recruiting of students. Komaeda was there the day of the murder so how could he ever forget that crime scene.

Sighing, Komaeda pulled the picture frame from the inside of his jacket, looking at it once again as he tried to make his final decision. It was time to decide, play along with the game or shut it down.

* * *

"How can you be so sure Himura isn't the killer?" Koba asked as they reached the first floor. The silence between the two of them was killing him. Chewing on his insides as bubbles of anxiety rose from his gut and popped in his chest.

"Excussie? Did I just hear that question leave that ugly mouth of yours?" Kaito bit back, his voice was the normal flower song it always was, except there was an edge to it. Like a knife hidden inside of a bouquet. The entire tone of it was highly condescending and left Koba with a bitter feeling.

"I just… how can you be so sure of anything?" Koba asked, looking around, he could see some of the other students gathered around. He was unsure what they were doing, whispering disbelief that Himura was such a… a monster. They wasted no time jumping on the train of guilt. Yet there was still doubt on their faces. Small, bright lights of hope that tried to break through the seems of sadness. Hope that they were wrong… that Himura was no killer.

"That's what you mean. I'll give you some words of advice, how about that?" Kaito started, his thin fingers moving to curl some of his bright, red hair around his finger. "They'll be people you meet in your life. People you love more than anything else. They fill a hole in your heart that you never thought would be filled. And you soon realize you'd do anything for them."

"Yeesh, that sounds a lil too deep… Haven't you only known Himura for like two weeks? Isn't it a bit early to get that… invested?" Koba was a bit puzzles by that. Sure, love at first sight was plausible, but the dedication in his eyes was something completely different.

"Oh right! Haha, completely forgot!" Kaito laughed, light and airy like he'd just told some hilarious joke. But something still felt strange about it. If only they weren't already investigating a murder than maybe Koba could take more time to dig into the Actor's strange behavior.

They arrived at Himura's door, taking a deep breath, Koba silently hoped that the barista would help them on this case. What could they do without his help? The barista had always been the one problem solve these entire murders. There's no way he would abandon them all like this.

Kaito knocked on the door before Koba really had the chance. Silence followed the gentle sound. It was as if nothing was inside of the room. No stirring or rustling came from behind the door. Kaito gave another moment before knocking on the door again. When silence followed again the actor slowly started to look more annoyed.

"Himura, honey, come answer the door. We need to talk to you." Kaito called out, knocking on the door again.

This time there was shuffling behind the door. Slowly they could hear heavy footsteps approaching them. Koba couldn't stop himself from holding his breath as the door slowly started to open. The man behind the door was… an absolute mess.

Himura's hair was damp as it lay flat on his head. He was wearing a loose fitting sweater and sweat pants. He looked like he'd just rolled out of bed during a week long depressive meltdown. The bags under his eyes seemed to sink in deeper and his eyes were glazed over. A much more hollow version of the barista hunched in the doorway, glaring at both of them.

"Why are you here?" Himura mumbled, his voice even slower and lower than usual.

"We came to ask why you think you're the killer." Koba rubbed his hands together as he spoke, the anxious bubbles still rising high within his chest. It was so weird to see Himura like this. He had become the definition of a mess. His hair was limp and flat against his face, free from the beanie he usually wore. Even his cowlick was pressed down to his head from whatever made his hair so damp.

"I don't think, I know I did it." Himura's words were blending together, as if he was putting almost no effort into speaking. "I told you guys this, I know I did it."

"Then why were you out cold when we came in there?" Kaito spoke before Koba had the chance. "Did you just kill them then pass out on the floor? Because that makes no sense."

"I don't have to explain this to you. You're wasting your time Ka-"

"Oh stop that! You do realize everyone will die if you're wrong, right? Someone set you up! You cou-" Kaito cut him off, but like a boomerang, it came right back to him.

"No, you need to stop this! No one could have set this up… It's… it's just like… Listen Kaito and Koba, I get what you're trying to do but… _**this isn't the first time this has happened**_. No one could copy it so… exactly because no one knows." Himura sighed again, hugging himself tight as he slowly was unable to make eye contact with the two other students.

There was a moment of silence that followed. Everyone seemed unsure of what to say. Kaito's lips parted, something must have popped into his head to help his friend. Himura must have noticed because he responded by shutting the door on them, both listening as the clunk of the lock told them questioning him was over.

"What do you think he meant?" Koba asked, looking up to the actor only to see the empty look on his face. A hollow expression, blank as it stared down the door in front of them. His eyes seemed focused, narrowing down on different points of the door. It took a moment but suddenly the look receded, his eyes become glossed jewels once again, sparkling in the hall light as he looked over towards Koba.

"Not right now." He said before running his fingers through his hair. "I need to investigate on my own for awhile… maybe we missed something."

Before Koba had the chance to respond the Actor was already strolling away. His heels clicking as he made his exit. Looked like Koba was on his own for the rest of the investigation. Though he still didn't know where to go next. He really wished Himura was here, the barista seemed to know exactly where to look. Koba couldn't help the overwhelming pressure that suddenly was pushing down on him. Himura was so sure he was the killer he wouldn't even talk to them. He didn't have nearly as much evidence as Himura always had. The Barista had always had his pockets crammed full of evidence to prove his friend's innocence but Koba barely had a few pieces of the overarching problem. He could feel his hands start to shake as he realized his friends depended on him. If he didn't solve this murder, everyone would DIE! Kobayashi was an idiot, he knew that more than anyone else. Everyone always told him how stupid he was, that he was a huge frickin mess! And right now, it felt like they were right!

 _No, you know better than that._

Koba felt as if he was in pieces, scattered around and unfixable, but the voice that sounded in his head seemed to form a small light in between the mess. It was calling out to him, trying to put him back together.

 _Pull yourself together. Your friends need you. You can't give up. Not now, not ever._

Koba felt the orb of light slowly gain a pull, putting him back together as he looked around. The voice was so light but spoke the truth, telling him exactly what he needed to do to pull himself together. He took a deep breath, feeling as he slowly started to calm down. His hands were still shaking ever so slightly but he felt as if he could handle everything that was happening. He was ready, he could do this. But where should he start?

That's when his eyes caught something up ahead. The door to Sugai's room was cracked ever so slightly. For some reason, it hadn't closed all the way. It was almost as if someone wanted it to be found. Taking a long, deep breath, Koba walked forward, pulling the door open and looking inside.

The room was filled with motivational cat posters. All telling the viewer to keep pushing forward. Koba couldn't keep in the small chuckle at how cute they all were. Nothing really seemed out of place. The room was a lot cleaner than his own, everything was neatly put away, tucked into the appropriate drawers and closet. All of his clothes seemed perfectly folded and tucked away. Maybe that's why it was odd that one of the clothes drawers wasn't pushed in all the way.

Walking over, Koba slowly pulled the draw open. The undershirts inside were perfectly folded, placed in so that they fill every single hole. Except for on the very right of the drawer, where _**a small gap showed a few shirts were missing**_. On closer examination Koba could see that two whole shirts were missing.

The find was made even more strange when Koba couldn't find any dirty laundry around the room. These shirts seemed like they were newly washed. He slid the next drawer open to see that it was crammed full of wrinkleless pants. Though it was different here because only one pair of pants was missing from this line up.

There was one last thing he wanted to check. He paused before running over to the closet. Sugai's suits were completely lined up, each as crisp and perfectly prepared as the last. But next to the perfectly lined up suits were two empty clothes hangers. Peculiar, Koba took a mental note on the strange occurrence. Maybe it would make more sense later.

Koba decided to give the room another look over. He paused for a moment to look at the perfectly lined up baseball bats up against the wall. Koba looked them over, taking in how well polished and waxed they all were. They were also perfectly lined up with the lines on the wall. Signatures from who Koba assumed were famous baseball players scrawled across their well kept wood. However, the thing that caught Koba's eye was the _**one jammed slightly in the middle**_. It broke the perfect spacing in between each bat and didn't line up with the wallpaper like the others. It was a slight thing to notice, visually it still looked pleasant, but why would Sugai set this one bat up different from the others.

Taking a few steps closer, Koba noticed a few other inconsistencies with the bat. It seemed a lot more used than the others as worn marks seemed to spot the wood. There was also something off about the signature on the bat. It was a lot more flamboyant than the other signatures. Koba couldn't help but mentally jotting down the signature's name. _**Ryan Batter.**_

Koba took a few steps back, that seemed like everything that he could find inside of the room. He took a couple steps back, not really watching where he was going until it was too late. His leg caught onto the trashcan, causing him to fall backwards, crashing onto the ground with a hard thud. Groaning, Koba slowly tried to recover from the tumble, rubbing his head as he laid on the floor for a few moments. That was when he saw the bright pink that was crammed underneath the bed.

Surprisingly the scientist didn't even hesitate when he reached out, tugging the crumpled ball of cloth from its hiding spot. The second it was free from underneath the bed it plopped open, revealing the missing shirts from the drawer.

They were soaked in bright, pink blood, meaning it was all still fresh. The blood swelled out from the center of the chest. All moving out from sharp, ragged tears in the center of the shirt. There were at least three, all of them aimed directly at the heart. Upon further inspection, Koba found two things sticking out of the shirt pocket. One was the key to Sugai's bedroom and the other was a note. Pulling them both out, Koba saw the key barely had any blood on it while the note was soaked in blood.

Luckily, the note had yet to completely fall apart, words still very readable and quickly scrawled onto the napkin. Whatever this message was, it was written in haste. Koba couldn't help but wonder why notes seemed to be a reoccurring theme in these cases.

 _If I don't return to my room in an hour please come back._

Koba felt his mouth go dry. It seemed like this was something that could be extremely useful to the case at hand. Swallowing, he tucked the letter back into Sugai's pocket, putting it back where it belonged. Finding the key inside of Sugai's pocket puzzled Koba a bit, how did this stuff get back into his room? Shrugging, Koba figured this was why the door was open. If the key was inside the room, how could anyone lock it.

Koba stood to his feet, deciding this was all he was going to find in this room. He gently fixed the trash can, deciding it was time to go investigate somewhere else. That was when one last thing caught his eyes. A rope leading underneath the bed. Dropping down, Koba dug around until he saw it.

"My Skateboard!" Koba yelped as he dragged it out, looking it over with confusion and fear. Why was his skateboard in Sugai's room? He was filled with more fear as he saw that the top was splattered with blood. Swallowing hard, Koba also noted the rope tied to board. Strange… why would someone tie a rope to the board. Groaning, Koba got up and took a towel from the bathroom, working to scrub some of the blood off. He didn't think about it, he just did it. The board was something special, he couldn't handle the fact that it had one of his friend's blood splattered onto it. Swallowing hard, Koba scrubbed on it harder, working to get off as much of the blood as he could.

He roughly gripped the board from below, holding on tight as he scrubbed. This board was a gift from someone special to him. I-It was from his brother. Trembling slightly, he thought of the horrible reaction his brother would have if he found out about him trashing his skate board. It just made him scratch at the blood even harder. That was when he felt the sticker come off on the bottom, breaking him from this horrible trance as he pulled the sticker up to his face.

 _Oh no_

Koba read the name tag that had just come off the board, The specially made sticker his brother had so that he could have it smacked onto his skateboard. _R. Kobayashi._ Now the name tag had popped off. Koba quickly flipped the board over to look at the bottom. Maybe there was still a chance he could pop it back on. Maybe-

 _Wait a minute._

There was a name tag still on the board. From the looks of it, it was carved into the board with some kind of knife. A permanent way to sign someone's name into the board. But no matter how long Koba stared at it, the name didn't change into his brother's name. _E. R._ was a name that caught him off guard, pushing some kind of clock work in his brain slowly start to tick. But someone had erased all of the numbers. Right now, Koba had no idea who she was, yet she made something familiar flame up in his chest.

"Koba? What are you doing in here?" The voice brought Koba back to reality for a moment. His head shot towards the door just in time to see Iris standing in the doorway, watching Koba with a worried look. After a bit, he could see Luna standing behind her, the two of them were watching him caustiously.

"Investigating." Koba said as he stood to his feet and tucked the skateboard back underneath his arm, suddenly feeling a calm wash over him as the board was finally returned to him. "Why are you guys here?"

"We heard a loud noise." Iris said softly as she started to rub her small hands together. "We wanted to make sure nothing bad happened."

"Oh, I tripped over the trash." Koba explained, looking the two over for a moment. "I'm fine though. I'm used to fallin'."

"Koba… do you think Himura did it?" Luna asked out of the blue, her large eyes watching Koba curiously for an answer.

"I'm not sure," Koba admitted, hugging the board to his chest as he looked around the room. "I don't know what to think right now but I refuse to believe it without any evidence. I need to know for sure what happened last night before I can make any further judgements."

Luna seemed, pleased by his answer, letting a small smile cross her lips as she took a few steps out of the doorway. "That's good to hear. I'm glad that you're not just blindly running around this place." She paused, taking a moment to pull her braid over her shoulder as she began to gently run her hand over it.

"No matter what happened last night, we'll figure out the truth." Koba tried to reassure her, adjusting his hat as he spoke so it was centered on his head once more.

"We tried to investigate a bit on our own," Iris admitted, rubbing her arms a bit as she seemed to avoid looking at anywhere but the ground, "but we couldn't find anything on the first floor."

"I think I've almost found all of the pieces I need." Koba admitted, smiling as he left the bedroom to join the girls in the hall. "There's just one last person I need to talk to."

"Who's that?" Luna asked, the seamstress following Koba as he walked out into the clearing near the bedrooms.

"Monokuma." Koba stated. "I have to ask the bear a few questions."

"Monokuma! But he doesn't give us any real information, he'll just walk you around in informative loops. It's worthless to talk to him." Luna objected, crossing her arms and looking skeptical.

Koba shrugged. "It's the last idea I have." He took a few steps forward, rubbing his neck before clearing his throat. It was the last option he had to get information.

"Monoku-" Koba yelled, but the bear showed up before he even finished his words the bear appeared before him. Looking at him with that menacing grin.

"What do you want, Fumio?" He asked, staring at the student with his lifeless eyes.

"I just have a few questions… if you don't mind ."

"Well I don't have anything better to do, you can only watch Kazuichi throw up and cry into a trashcan for so long before getting bored." Monokuma grumbled, crossing his arms around his fat little chest as he spoke.

Koba tried not to show too much disgust at the remark but it was hard. How could you watch a sad display like that for more than a few seconds. Koba had only caught a glance of the teacher hunched over the trash can as he balled his eyes out and Koba couldn't even handle that for more than a second. This mastermind truly was some kind of sicko.

"Well, hurry up. I don't got all day! Gotta start that trial here soon enough." Monokuma rushed when Koba didn't respond immediately.

"Okay, my first question is, how many people have to see a body before the Body Discover Announcement goes off?"

"That's an easy one! Haven't I answered that one before?" Monokuma asked, looking at Koba with a judging gaze.

"I-I can't remember so I was asking to make sure." Koba said, rubbing his neck as he tried to scan his memories of the start of the school year, which were already starting to get fuzzy.

"Well, three people have to see the body for the announcement to be triggered."

"So… if someone saw a body and then died… would it still count? And does the killer count?"

"Wh- hey! You're asking too specific of questions! And of course the killer doesn't count! What kind of bullshit would that be?"

"Answer the question, Monokuma." Luna growled from her spot behind Koba.

"Uhg, fine you jerks! It counts as long as the person sees the body is alive when they see it AND they aren't the killer." They finally dragged the answer out of Monokuma. Koba knew the thing was probably rolling his eyes extremely hard if it had the pupils to do that.

"Now, my second question is what would happen if someone else took another person's keys?"

"They'd have their keys." Monokuma responded, looking at him as if Koba was an utter idiot. "I don't hold your hands like preschoolers. If you take someone else's keys, that's their problem! Why would I do anything else about it? Listen, I'm getting really annoyed with your random questions. I'm only going to answer one more then it's game time."

Koba swallowed, he only had one question left to ask. But the pressure was on, he had to word it just right or else he would just get a torn up mess of a response from the ursine demon near him. His last chance to get the last of the information he needed to solve this case. "How many people is the killer aloud to murder at once and did they know this rule before killing?"

"Two. I would only let the killer murder two people at once. Any more than that and the entire thing would become too much to handle. They'd go around killing everyone in sight. Now that wouldn't be any fun at all, right?" Monokuma answered, nodding his head as he went to leave. "Well, time for me to finish prepping for the trial.

"What? Wait! You didn't answer the last half of my question!" Koba called out after the bear, which only seemed to be making it more irritated.

"I said ONE more. That doesn't mean you get to weasel in two and pretend it's one. That's not how this works! I've already told you too much so don't be a spoiled brat about it!"

Koba watched as Monokuma left the scene, leaving the students behind in the room in silence. And the second the bear vanished from sight, the sound played for them all to hear. That dreadful invitation.

" _It's time for the Class Trial!_ _Everyone report to the room behind the red door on the first floor! Once everyone gathers we'll head down for the trial!"_

Koba swallowed hard, glancing around at everyone as they slowly emerged from their rooms. Were they truly that sure their friend had committed the murder that they could rest in their rooms. They all looked dazed and confused, like a blanket had been tossed over their head. Swallowing hard, Koba remembered this kind of look. For a second, he saw it flash in front of his eyes. A swarm of people, pushing against each other as they all reached for the door. Walking with that empty look in their eyes. All of them shoved their way around Kobayashi as if he was some kind of obstacle. He remembers calling out for help before they all drag him under. _They were all filled with despair._

Koba snapped out of the nightmare as he felt Iris' hand on his shoulder. The botanist gave a small smile before gently leading Koba back to the elevator. The only people he had yet to see were Kaito and Himura… silently he hoped they were okay. He hoped that this would all be okay. A dark, menacing feeling bubbled in his chest as fear tried to swallow him whole once again. The red of the elevator door caused it to spike. But it was soon ended by the voice once again.

 _You can do this. If not for yourself than at least for your friends._

One last, deep breath and he was there. He watched as everyone gathered. Makoto was already there with a few of the students, their group huddled near the door as Makoto tried to comfort them. Than Hajime entered the room, the taller teacher was helping an ill appearing Souda. All of the blood vessels in the mechanic's face were busted as more tears rolled down his face. The teacher looked as if they'd dragged him out of hell.

Tanaka was trailing after them, looking even more ghastly than normal. His body seemed tense and alert. It seemed as if both teachers had the life ripped out of their bodies.

Soon Kaito arrived, the actor glancing around before standing next to Koba. He leaned down slightly, moving to whisper into the scientist's ear. "Himura isn't here yet?"

"No… I uh… I haven't seen him yet." Koba admitted, slowly becoming worried that he wouldn't show up.

"Maybe we should go fi-" Kaito got cut off halfway through his sentence. Snapping his mouth shut as he saw the door to the room open once more.

The wispy, dead hair of Komaeda entered the room first, the teacher was leading the ragged student behind him. The teacher must have grabbed Himura on his way here. Koba held his breath as he made eye contact with the Barista. A moment passed before the barista walked towards them.

"Everyone's here!" Monokuma yelled as he waved his hands towards the elevator. "Everyone get on the elevator!"

Everyone piled onto the elevator, walking past Koba as the entered the ride down. There was a moment of silence as Himura stared Koba down. A moment where the world seemed to stand still… only the two of them existed on this endless plane.

"Remember in the last case when you were determined to save your friends?" Himura asked, his voice like a low, gravelly whisper.

"...yeah."

"I hope you're ready to do that again. I need you to be ready to take me down…"

"Himura! I don't think you did it… there's proof that you're innocent." Koba tried to retort as he followed Himura into the elevator.

"Well…" Himura started, looking at Koba with a stern look. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see."


	14. I'll Do Whatever It Takes

Kazuichi felt himself choke on the air as his eyes laid upon the motivational speaker's corpse. He felt his hands tremble as an electric shock shot up his spine until it hit the base of his head, causing a giant burst of pain as an image ruptured into his mind. It flashed for a moment, dissolving and letting Kazuichi get another glance of the corpse of one of his students.

Another shock blasted through him as his stomach twisted into thick knots. He barely felt it as his legs collapsed underneath him, buckling as he headed downwards. The mechanic wasn't even aware as someone scooped him from the air, keeping him from the horrible pain of bashing his face onto the ground.

His vision fogged as his world seemed to spin. Spinning and spinning as his mind dragged his consciousness back into the past. The heavy feeling in his gut burst when he saw the corpse talking to him, alive and well.

" _Souda-Sensei! I've been looking for you all day!" Sugai bent down underneath the car as the large figure looked for his teacher underneath the metal box. The student probably knew exactly why the teacher was hiding at this point._

" _What do you want?" Kazuichi shoutes as his hands pretended to work on the machine above him. The car didn't need any more work, though. Kazuichi had already fixed it earlier this morning._

" _I heard what happened, I came to help you!" Sugai barked, his voice bellowing through the small space._

" _I don't need your help!" Souda yelled back, though his voice was more of a cracked screech at this point. "I've got everything under control!"_

" _Aw, Teach, you don't have to lie to me. Come on out." The student didn't really wait for a response, just grabbed the teacher by his leg and dragged him out._

 _The teacher tried to resist but surrendered after a few seconds. There was nothing he could grab onto that wouldn't break the car. Might as well become an embarrassment then look like an idiot and give himself more work. Once he was out, he pouted, crossing his arms and glaring. "What the hell do you want?"_

" _I just want to help you." Sugai's voice lightened. The student dug through one of his pockets, pulling out a pack of gum and handing a piece to his teacher. "Chew this. It's got herbs that help relax your muscles. It will help you calm down."_

 _Kazuichi grumbled, snatching the piece from him and tossing it into his mouth. Grumbling to himself as he angrily gnawed on the rubbery piece. Kazuichi couldn't help but notice the numbness that slowly washed over his mouth. The feeling slowly sinking down into his gut._

" _Now, do you want to talk about it?" Sugai asked. The motivational speaker was now sitting in the dirt next to him. The pants of his white suit most likely getting dirty from the messy floor of Souda's garage. Looking back, Souda wished he could have offered him a nicer place to sit. He wasn't worth ruining such a clean suit._

" _Hell No." Souda growled, folding his legs against his chest._

" _That's okay, we'll work up to it." Sugai sounded confident as he roughly patted his teacher's back._

" _Why are you trying to help me? I said I don't need it! Can't you take a hint?" Kazuichi hissed, unsure of why anyone would stick around to help him. What happened was his own fault and he didn't deserve help. What he deserved was to be run over with a car._

" _Because I owe you my life, Souda-Sensei." Even now, looking back to this lost memory, those words caught Souda off guard. How could anyone owe him anything._

" _How?" Souda mumbled, suddenly confused how the student could ever owe him anything, especially something as serious as his life. "What could I possibly have done?"_

" _You inspired me." Sugai leaned over, patting his teacher on his back. "I've always heard stories of how my words affect people. I see people cheer and how their eyes light up. But I've never met anyone like you. Your inspiration and self esteem are so low that when I inspire you I can actually see the sudden change of heart. The fire behind your eyes. When I came here, I thought I'd hit a brick wall. I thought I'd never improve, that all my inspiration had only temporary effects on those who listened to me."_

 _Kazuichi didn't speak. He just watched the motivational speaker's face closely has he kept speaking. Though the student had mainly sharp, jagged features in his face, most of them felt soft at this moment. Rounded to match the kind personality of the man who bore them._

" _But with you, I can see it, the confidence growing inside of you everytime I talk to you. My words mean something to you. They… they have a permanent effect on you, even if it's a slow one."_

Kazuichi wished he had control over this memory, that he could change what was about to happen. He wished he could tell the student to run from the school, to leave so that he would never be stuck in this killing game. All in hopes to free him from the current killing game they were all trapped inside. But instead he said -

" _That's the dumbest shit I've ever heard." Kazuichi pouted, huffing as he pulled his legs tighter against his chest like some kind of child. "I'm still as worthless as the day you got here."_

" _You're too hard on yourself." Sugai laughed, brushing off his teachers shut down with ease. "Now, let's discuss how to boost your confidence enough to ask out your sweetheart!"_

" _Sh-Shut up! Someone will hear you!" Souda yelped, moving to try and cover the tall student's mouth._

" _Haha Don't worry pal, no one's out here." Sugai promised as he grabbed his teacher's wrists and gently put them back down, away from his face. "You can trust me, alright? A lot of people trust me with their secrets."_

" _Like who?" Souda barked. The teacher felt shame at how much he doubted his student's abilities. Why did he use his fears and hate for himself to attack other people._

" _Well, I won't say their name but one of my fellow classmates talks about how they're ashamed of where they came from." Sugai's voice started to break, but not in a normal way. Almost as if there was interference with the audio of the memory. "They came from a Despair Recovery Center. They're afra○□ □○ □○□□ □○□○ □□○□ ○□ □□○● □○○□□ ○○□..."_

The words cut out, slowly becoming an incoherent mess of syllables that Souda had no chance of understanding. Broken pieces of something legible as the teacher felt the words collapse underneath him, along with the vision. The teacher felt his head spinning again. Looking around, he found himself in one of the rooms on the third floor. He could feel his stomach churning with disgust. Tears broke from his face. The memories mixed with the sight was too much for his weak heart. With a gag he reached out, dragging one of the trash cans closer so he could try and toss up some of the horrible feelings within his gut.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Hajime working to drag Gundam into the room, gently setting down the teacher near the other. Hajime paused a moment, looking over the two before crouching down in front of them. Checking to make sure they were both okay.

Watching the other teacher, Souda couldn't help but noticed the glossed over look of fear on the other teacher's face. He wondered if he was suffering from the same pain as well… the memories hurt and he hoped his fellow teacher was okay.

* * *

The ride down into the basement was quiet. Usually everyone gathered near the door during these trips but this ride was different. Himura stood near the door, hands crossed in front of his lap as he stood there in silence. His eyes watching the ground in silence as a large gap surrounded him. Students were avoiding him like he had a horribly contagious disease. Most of them stared as the accusations and guilt flooded their vision. Sweeney and Bellerose looked angry, judging him for the crimes he had committed.

Koba looked around, noticing the fact that Kaito was pushed into the back of the group, almost as if he was avoiding the attention. That or he was trying to give Himura the needed space. Koba tried to walk next to the barista, to stand near his side and show his support but it was like an invisible wall stood between him and his friend. A thick wall filled with unbearable tension that seemed to be even thicker around Himura.

Koba almost worked up the courage when the door finally opened. Bringing the students into the open trial room to face off against each other once again. Koba sighed as he tucked the dark green earphone into his ear as he stepped out. Quickly Koba noticed something drop to the floor. Another dark green communicator.

Koba picked it off the ground. Watching as his teachers left to their own stations. Souda was still staggering, looking woozy from earlier events. Tanaka seemed as if he was slowly starting to get himself put back together. Koba looked to make eye contact with his own teacher. What was he supposed to do if one of his students lost their earpiece. As he turned to join his fellow students, more realisation washed over him like dark wave.

 _Himura had tossed his communicator onto the floor._ He could see the other student take a stand at his podium. His ear was empty of the communicator. Was he really that sure he knew who the killer was. How could he be so ready to die?

Taking a deep breath, Koba hopped onto his podium as he took a moment to absorb their new battlegrounds as he tried not to let the panic show on his face.

The arena had changed once again. The walls were changed into those of a coffee shop, jars of strange beans covered every wall. The walls were a brighter, more obnoxious color than a normal coffee shop. It was as if someone added a ton of reds and yellows to the usually muted greys and browns of a peaceful shop. They made Koba feel more on edge than he already was.

Taking a deep, Koba tried to regain his composure. To try and pull himself together and reshape this mess into a solvable situation. He gathered up all the notes he'd gathered in his head over the course of the investigation and took a deep breath. He could do this. He could prove find out who the real murder was and save his friend from the wrong conviction that was about to fall and crush him.

"Are you ready to undergo the next trial?" Monokuma spoke, drawing Koba's attention back to the bear as he sat in his deep, comfortable throne.

"More than ready." Sweeney spoke, waving one of his hands as he moved his glare from Himura to Monokuma. "We already have a confession of who the killer is so this will be a short trial."

"What? Already? But that's so boring!" Monokuma growled, slouching back in his throne as he looked over the entire class. He looked like a child about to throw a temper tantrum.

Bellerose nodded, "Unfortunately all the evidence lines up perfectly. There's no point in dragging this on since the killer already admitted what he'd done."

"...Oh? Well, if you're all so sure you know who did it than we might as well end this here and start the voting, riiiiiiiight?" Monokuma sounded as if he was… burning time for someone. Almost as if he was waiting for someone to interject. It was like one of those scenes when someone was stalling for someone else to-

"Kobayashi, if we don't do something, Himura will die. We all will die." Kaito whispered over to him, looking at him with a stern gaze. Right! It was Koba's job to interject this time! He had to lead the discussion.

"It's just Koba, I-I mean I object! Himura didn't do it and I have proof!" Koba pointed a finger out, unsure of who to target with the gesture. His mind stuck on the tattoo artist, since Sweeney had started this discussion anyways. "I'll prove you all wrong and together we can find the real killer."

"God, I knew you were an idiot, but is this really pushing it." Sweeney remarked, looking over everyone as if he was waiting for them to agree with him. "Himura confessed, why are you trying to fight this? Just accept that your friend killed two people. Don't be stupid!"

"No! You're being stupid! We should go over the facts, remember, if we're wrong…" Koba paused, hating how selfish the tattoo artist was at this moment. He had to get at least half of the remaining members on his side. If he couldn't do that than this would all be over quickly. "Everyone dies! Rushing forward like this is as stupid as it gets, Sweeney!"

The tattoo artist jolted back a bit for a moment, almost as if he'd taken a hard blow from Koba's words. The other students looked as if they were contemplating his words, worry and confusion bubbling over their faces as they glanced over each other. A puffy eyed Niijima glanced over at Himura before looking back to Kobayashi. This was it, this was the opening he needed.

"Don't any of you think it's suspicious that Himura was found unconscious with the dead bodies? Who kills their friends then just goes to sleep?" Koba decided to start at the obvious. When they had entered the room, Himura had been out cold. With a set up like that, it was easy to see he was framed, right? Who passes out after killing someone?

"What!" Bellerose's voice cracked a moment as she gently laid a hand on her chest. The confusion on her face showing bright as she stared Koba down. "We didn't know that! He was awake when we entered the room!"

"He woke up shortly after I arrived." Kaito added as he pulled a rose out of his dress shirt and batted his fan of eyelashes.

"Right, when I first entered the cafe -," Koba knew this would be a blow, enough to knock everyone back to considering the possibility that someone else was the killer, "- _ **I thought Himura was dead as well!**_ "

Everyone paused and started chattering. Koba had delivered the blow he needed to take all suspicion from Himura. He felt the smile crease his lips as they all started to try and find ways to continue the conversation. He couldn't help but notice the panicked look of Sweeney as the tattoo artist must have realized they all lacked the evidence that Koba had gathered.

 _So far, so goo-_

"There's an easy answer to that." Himura spoke up, the student scratched his head through his beanie, his dark eyes seemed to be spinning in the dark room. A deep swirling rounding through his eyes as he casually fixed Koba's issue with the situation at hand. "When I get really angry, _**I go into a rage and everything goes black**_. After a bit of being swallowed by the heavy, endless feeling of anger I pass out. It's happened before."

"Wha-" Koba was taken off guard. He could see all the eyes turn back to him as they awaited another response from the scientist. Their eyes seemed to burn his skin as he tried to gather more points in his head. For some reason, it never occurred to him that Himura himself would try to fight him on this point. "W-Well when we found Himura the sc-"

"I knew what Kusonoki looked like before I even saw the room, remember? I had just woken up and recalled exactly what she looked like. _**That Kusonoki had died from several stabs in the gut, right? Five to be exact.**_ If I didn't do that, then how would I know that?" Himura interjected again. Breaking through Koba's sentence and hitting everyone with these facts that Koba wasn't sure how to counter yet.

"Well you could ha-"

"No, I had the knife in my hand. It was covered in blood. It was sticky and thick and clung to my skin. It was on all of my clothes. There's no doubt that I had blood splash onto me."

"But what if i-"

"Sugai's body was right across from me. His body is too heavy for someone to move on their own. The most logical answer is that he fell there, across from me as I slit his throat." Himura made a slicing gesture in the air as his spoke, his eyes becoming more wild as he talked.

"I ju-"

"Listen, Koba, no matter what you have to say, no matter what you found, there's no way evidence can override my confession. Stop trying to defend me, I'm a monster! _**I killed Kusonoki and Sugai with my bare hands! Punish me for my crimes and allow the rest of you to move on with your lives and get out of this place.**_ "

"See, your objections are useless!" Sweeney barked, "Stop trying to fight it and let's keep going! There's no point in wasting our time in this dungeon."

The wild look in Himura's eyes… it was something Koba recognized but couldn't put his finger on. The look causing clockword to start to spin in his head. He took a deep breath as his mind raced to put something together. This was a horror show that was unfolding in front of him had to be handled before it exploded in his hands. It was like handling a readied bomb and some fool had put Koba in charge. If he cut the wrong wire then everyone would die… Everyone except the bomb's creator.

But how could he fight back? How could he beat an actual testimony. There was nothing he could do if Himura kept undermining everything he said. But there had to be some way that Koba could stagger the biggest force working against him at this point. There had to be something, a way to get Himura to question his own memory. He had to find a way to defeat Himura so he could save everyone!

"Well Koba?" Monokuma probed as he looked over towards the scientist, "Any last objections or should I start the vote?"

But… right now he had nothing! All evidence was swept under by the confession. If only he had some kind of way to break through the thick layer of doubt surrounding his friend. He needed a new bullet of truth, one that wasn't already in his arsenal. But who could have the information he needed. Who-

" _I guess it's time I spoke up, huh?_ " The buzz of Komaeda's dreary voice sounded in his ear, ringing around his head as the teacher finally spoke. " _I think I have the information we need to win this. Listen closely to me, this is our chance. I need you to tell Monokuma you want to review the New Home Cafe's murder case. It will get us some time._ "

He wasn't sure what he was talking about, but a chance was a chance. This was still the opportunity he needed and even if he was just stalling for time at this point, anything was better than just standing here with his mouth dangling open like some kind of idiot.

"WAIT! I want to review the case file of an old murder! _**The murder at the New Home Cafe!**_ " Koba shouted and even though he was talking to Monokuma, he felt his eyes drawn to Himura's reaction.

The Barista reeled at what he was saying and for a moment, there was a break in the glazed over look in his eyes. When the words finished coming out of Koba's mouth, the barista's hands dropped to his side as he stared over at his fellow student. His lips weakly mouthing the words _W?_

"OOoooh! So Makoto didn't just throw that junk away? Seems like a waste but I'll bite. Better make it entertaining, though. The second this gets boring I'm cutting the life line." The bear laughed before a folder dropped down from the ceiling. The bear moved quickly, snatching it up before opening it up and going to read the contents. "Now, let me read the details of this unsolved murder case."

"Are you serious?' Bellerose interjected, grabbing the front of her shirt as a stern look was shot towards Koba. "Why the hell should we review some old murder trial? This is a waste of our time and could get us killed!"

"This does feel like a waste of time. As much as I don't want to believe it all the evidence points to Himura." Eguchi frowned as she spoke.

"I agree! Doesn't anyone else oppose this? Come on!" Sweeney remarked, gripping the stand in front of him as he glared over at Koba. "This is disrespectful to our dead friends! We should be focusing on helping them, not running around in circles like it doesn't matter! Get your head out of your ass and le-"

"No," Niijima spoke up from her spot, the sad look on her face as she scanned the room, "What Koba is doing isn't disrespectful. He's looking for answers. Kusonoki used to tell me that ghosts exist for a reason. Even if this case doesn't seem related… maybe it's because we haven't given it the time and truly listened to it."

"Sugai would have wanted us to listen to everything Koba had to say!" Sato said next, tears welling up in the corner of her eyes. "I know he trusted Koba more than anyone else in this school. He said _A kid like that can never have bad intentions, pal."_ She lowered her voice to mimic his speech for a second which only caused her voice to shake as more tears welled up in her eyes. "That's why I will listen to whatever Koba has to say. For Sugai and for Kusonoki."

"I don't have anything deep to say," Luna added, "but Koba is the only one of us who investigated. Which means he knows more about this murder trial than any of us."

"She's right!" Iris spoke up, it had been the first time he'd seen her so determined in a while. "We can't give this up until every stone is unturned."

"You know my answer already," Kaito responded, twirling the rose between his fingers before his eyes focused on the barista. "I'm here to prove him innocent.

" _See, when presented with hope, they will follow. This is the chance you need to get to the truth. I'll be here if you need my help._ " Komaeda gave him the last bit of support he needed to carry on with this case. It caused a fire to roar within his chest. The light that had pulled him together earlier was back, burning inside his chest. It felt as if it was causing him to glow with the need to finish this trial and save his friends.

"Alright, that's enough of that. Looks like the yeses outweigh the nos, so we'll be continuing. I don't want anyone to interrupt me, got it?" Monokuma warned, looking over the entire group before he cleared his throat and moved onto the file that laid flat on his small lap.

" _Now listen up. Right before your school life started a murder took place outside the school boundaries. The victim's name was_ _Uso Tsuki and he was about to go into high school just like the rest of you except he was boooring. Uso worked as waiting staff at the cafe. He cleaned the tables and helped with customer service. Though to be honest, he was a huge dick. He was one of the only two staff members who work at the cafe_."

"I don't see why this is necessary." Himura suddenly jumped in, causing a glare from Monokuma as he looked up from his file. "I don't understand why we have to bring this up! It's not important! It's old, worthless informa-"

"Hey! Shut your mouth! No interrupting!" Monokuma barked, causing Himura to slouch over his stand as if he'd taken some fatal blow. Clenching his chest in pain as he hunched over. "Now, if you open your mouth again I'll shut it for you, understand?"

"...understood." Himura mumbled, looking defeated as he hunched over the pedestal. "I'll… keep quiet."

"What a good boy, Kazuki Himura." Monokuma praised the barista before moving on with the file in his lap. "Now, where were we….. Nope, already said that line….. And a huge dick, yadda yadda… Right! _The other employee at the store was the owner and the barista of the cafe. You all know him, he's Kazuki Himura!_ Now no need to gasp in surprise everyone, you had to have seen this coming. Anyways _On that day, Nagito Komaeda and Aoi Asahina happened to wander into the cafe. The two ended up buying coffees after scouting out another student. As they drank their coffee, they soon became aware that the barista had the ability of an Ultimate Student. So, after speaking with the barista, they decided to decide over night if the barista could join the school's growing cast of characters._

 _However, when they returned the next day, they discovered a crime scene had taken over the small cafe. Murdered in the back room of the cafe was young Uso Tsuki. He was leaned up against a few bags of coffee beans near the far wall. Five stab wounds total dotted his gut. The murder was never solved because the murder weapon went missing so they couldn't prove anything. Though the police greatly suspect Kazuki Himura as the murderer. However security footage shows no sign of the barista ever leaving the bar, making it hard for him to dispose of the weapon._ Eventually the case ran cold and Kazuki Himura escaped that horrible bloodbath of a cafe and entered Hope's Peak."

'Wh-Wha? Is that true?" Iris gasped, covering her mouth as she jumped slightly at this new news.

"That… That sounds just like…" Niijima whimpered, hugging herself for a moment as she tried to get out what everyone had gathered from that details of the old case.

"That sounds just like how Kusonoki died." Bellerose swallowed hard, gripping her shirt tight as she looked bewilderedly at the bear as he thumbed through the file.

"Thaaat's right! There's more info too!" Monokuma snapped his fingers and suddenly all of their student tablets began to vibrate. Koba tugged his out of his pocket, tossing the pad in front of me onto the stand. The usually dark colored tablet lit up with pictures of evidence from the case, including more detailed information on the subject.

Koba took this moment to look over the information present to him at this moment. The new files that were delivered to them contained images of the murder scene, showing the bloodied body of Uso Tsuki. The man was decently attractive with smooth, well kept hair that covered most of the right side of his face. His pale, thin facial features featured a blank, empty expression. His eyes glazed over as death seemed to take hold of his entire body. However, the most startling image was the fact that the picture looked vaguely familiar… almost as if he'd seen it before. There was a small amount of blood splattered onto the walls.

There was also a list of evidence from the police. Things like an autopsy report, a replica of what the murder weapon would have looked like, and additional notes from the police. The autopsy report seemed pretty basic, _**Uso died from a stab that went right through his heart**_ , a blow that would have killed him instantly. The other stabs seemed as if they were more for show as the victim was already dead when they were inflicted. Then there was the replica of the murder weapon. A long, specially made looking blade. From what the cops had gathered from molding the wounds, it wasn't a basic kitchen wife. Instead, it would have looked more like some kind of ornament than a weapon. Not something that could easily be misplaced, that was for sure. The odd design was obviously made to kill quickly and cleanly. Finally, there were the notes. Koba went to look them over. They mentioned another possible suspect to these crimes but…

"If anything I think this just makes Himura look more guilty!" Sweeney sounded a little startled by the new information that had just been presented to them.

"Y-You're right... This murder sounds just like the one we're dealing with right now." Eguchi remarked, running a finger over her student handbook as she seemed to absorb all the information it put forward.

" _This is exactly what I wanted._ " Komaeda buzzed in as he flipped through the notes. " _You understand where to go with this information, right?"_

Koba thought it over for a moment. At first, he couldn't see why his teacher wanted to bring up this old case. Right now, it looked like it only made Himura look more guilty. But upon further thought… this opened up a lot of doors and possibilities to what was about to happen. As Koba took in Himura's reaction to the case and matching up this new information with what he'd already collected, this blew major holes in the trial they had now. Koba couldn't stop the blossoming joy that formed in his chest.

"Do you see now, Koba." Himura spoke, his dead gaze returning to the scientist as his eyes began to spin once more. Slowly he placed a hand on his forehead, running his fingers through his hair before covering half of his face with his palm. "Is this enough for you to finally see the monster I really am? My horrible secret… is that I was a murderer before I even came to this school. This old case file… proves that I'm the killer you're looking for."

"I beg to differ, homie! If anything, this old junk proves your innocence!" Koba felt the large grin rip across his face, spreading from ear to ear as he could taste the victory slowly spread in his chest. The warm sensation spreading through him as he readied himself to win this battle for good.

"You've got to be kidding me. Are you fucking stupid? How does it prove that at all?" Sweeney growled, leaning forward as if the small figure was going to jump over the podium and strangle Koba right here and now.

"Get on my level ya dushbag! Open your eyes and look at the truth you loser." Koba smirked as he went over the pages within the file. "For one, if you'd read the entire file, you'd know that Himura _**wasn't the only suspect of the case**_!"

"Wh-what? That doesn't sound right…" Himura stumbled on his words, his fingers digging deeper into his face as he contemplated the idea. "I don't remember anyone else at the cafe that night."

"Koba's right! A celebrity was seen at the cafe close to closing. They even had security footage of her!" Iris seemed happy as she looked over the info, probably glad that suddenly it was so easy for her to help with the trial. "Her name was Eun Rhee!"

"I know that named," Luna spoke up next, looking over her handbook as if to double check the information. There was a strange look on her face as she read over the information, almost as if she couldn't believe what she was reading for a moment. "Rhee is a famous skateboarder from Korea. She's known for her amazing tricks and cool attitude. Why would she ever be in such a small cafe."

"That's what I'm wondering too." Sato added as the racer looked over the info. "A cute, famous girl like that would never go to such an unknown establishment like that! Especially at night."

"Th-that doesn't mean she did it." Himura objected. "People don't just kill without a motive. Even if she was there that night, she didn't have a reason to kill Uso, I did."

"Motives are always a good place to start." Koba wasn't about to be thrown off yet. It was true, he had no idea what Himura or this Rhee person's motive might have been but he could keep this rolling if he tried hard enough. Maybe he'd pick up new information as time went on. That was when a good question popped up in his head. "Did you have a motive for killing this time?"

"Of course I did… it had to have been to keep my secret safe." Himura stated as he made the answer seem fairly obvious. He reverted back to his cold, unstable demeanor that was present before they started to show evidence he was the killer.

"Well if that was the only motive than why would you _**kill Sugai as well**_? You only needed one person to keep your secret safe. So why would you kill two people?" Koba questioned, looking over the other as he waited for a response.

"I-I don't know… I can't remember." Himura groaned, rubbing his head as he tried to coax out the lost memories. "M-maybe he walked in?"

"An I don't know is barely a solid answer, Himura! A logical guy like you wouldn't kill for a maybe. I don't think you'd kill for your secret either." Koba patted his chest gently, gesturing at his heart as he spoke in a gentle tone.

"Wait… Makoto says you were attacked…" Bellerose had a finger placed to one of her ears. Her eyes looking wild for a moment as she focused on the barista. "He said he heard someone come at you with a knife… but who did that?"

This was new information that sat well with Koba. If someone had tried to kill Himura then they had the identity of the killer already. It made sense that they would frame their next murder on the guy who escaped their deadly knife. Guess it was time to figure out who the killer was and put this whole thing to rest.

"Just tell us who attacked you," Koba asked gently. "You don't need to protect them, okay? If they killed Sugai and Kusonoki then they need to be punished or else everyone else will die."

"You think I'm doing this to protect someone? That my motive is some holy, selfless sacrifice from my heart? I promise you, there's no point in protecting the person who attacked me that night." Himura was slowly sinking back into the panicked state he was in before, the look of certainty reappearing on his face as he spoke. "I promise you Koba, this line of questioning is only going to dig a deeper hole for you to climb out of."

Koba hesitated. Should he continue with this line of questioning? There was a lot of points he still wanted to touch on but at the moment he was unsure… was this the right one. Taking a deep breath he came to a conclusion. As long as Himura told the truth, the facts would lead to the answers they needed. Only facts could dig them out at this point!

"I think I know what I'm doin'." Koba smirked, rubbing under his nose as he grinned. "Don't hold back any information!"

"Alright, if you're so damn sure you want to this." Himura growled, rubbing his face with his palm. "I already admitted to my guilt, so I'm glad to further that line of reasoning. That night, right after the motives were announced, I was out late at night. I was doing a favor for Naegi-Sama when I was suddenly tackled to the ground. _**That's when Kusonoki tried to stab me to death**_."

The room grew silent for a moment. They could hear each other's heart beats for a moment as they all sat around. This… wasn't where Koba thought that line of questioning would go. He had no idea that was where this was going to go. He had hoped this would be some kind of solution to the problem. Instead, Himura was right as this fact only seemed to bury them deeper into the dirt. He could feel as the suspicion level rose. Everyone's eyes were going between Himura and Koba as they tried to figure out who would speak next.

"Th-That means you had a reason to kill Kusonoki! More than just to keep your secret safe!" Sato covered her mouth as she spoke, looking stunned as she stared Himura down. "You killed her because she had tried to kill you."

"If that's not a solid motive, I don't know what is." Sweeney stated, his voice becoming flat and thoughtful as he looked over to Koba. "How can you argue with this?"

Koba was thrown back for a moment. He had no idea how to resist this line of reasoning. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he tried to recall anything that might change this entire situation. But he hit a wall. That was a solid motive. Maybe if he could redirect the attention to something else until he got more facts on the current situation.

"Can we come back to this?" Koba scratched the back of his head as he spoke, "I need more information than what you're giving me... "

"This is a stupid line of reasoning." Kaito spoke, his voice flatter than usual as he stared Himura down. "You know that's not a good motive but you're not saying anything. You're making yourself look guilty. Why are you throwing yourself under like this?"

"Stop protecting me! I'm a killer, It's about time I was punished for all of my crimes!" Himura shouted back. It was almost as if the barista was slowly sinking deeper and deeper as he was slowly being swallowed by the world around him. Each time he spoke sounded exasperated. Like the last breaths of air were swallowing him as he sank deeper. It was as if his lungs were being crushed underneath the weight of it all. "All my life I've been a waste of space. A pathetic excuse for a human! No one ever loved me because I'm so emotionally stunted. Even when I was a child… I was an abnormal freak. It was only a matter of time before all those emotions and dark feelings bubbled out and that I attacked someone! For all the people I let down, for the three people I killed, I deserve to die without anyone there for me. You shouldn't try to save me. What I did was unforgivable."

"Yeah, there's a huge hole in that logic, Himura. So how about you shut up for a little bit? I can't say everything I want at this very moment but… you're wrong. I'll do anything to prove to you that you're wrong. But first, let me start off with the biggest problem with what you just said. _**Kazuki Himura, you have never killed anyone in your entire life! Not even Uso Tsuki died at your hands!**_ And we're going to prove it to you!"

Koba felt something bubble inside of him as he watched Kaito. It was as if he was inspiring him to keep going. He could see the dedication in his friend's stern face. He paused as Kaito slowly turned to look at him, something fiery burning behind his bright blue eyes. "Koba, you know how to prove it, don't you?"

"Shut up! Why don't you just listen to me? I-I AARRGH! Why are you both so stubborn?" Himura was almost snarling now, obviously frustrated at this point. A sudden, burst of rage seemed to burn in the center of his eyes.

With those words, something seemed to make sense. It was as if he was finally getting a rubix cube together, that satisfying feeling as all the sides started to become the same color. The facts, it was all starting to make sense. Koba was so close to figuring out who the killer was.

"I have an important question for you, homie." Koba grinned wide, he'd wanted to say this for so long, and finally, a situation appeared where he could finally utter these awful words. "You mad bro?"

"Yes! How could I not be? You two keep undermining everything I sa-" Suddenly, Himura's sentence stopped and he collapsed to the ground. A scream sounded across the courtroom as Iris covered her mouth.

"Oh god you killed him!" Iris squealed as she pulled her hat over her eyes.

"Nope, he ain't dead!" Koba said proudly. "He just passed out."

"Wait… he got so angry he passed out?" Bellerose repeated as Koba could see the information start to click in his head. "But… didn't he say he goes into an aggressive, blind rage first?"

"It was a lie." Kaito responded as he looked down at Himura's unconscious body. "Or at least he thought he did."

"But… what does this even prove?" Sweeney growled, if he kept this up, he might turn into a dog.

"We'll know for sure when he wakes up," Koba smirked as he spoke, it felt so cool to solve a mystery like this, "but if he remembers everything that happened before he passed out it means _**he couldn't have forgotten killing Sugai, Kusonoki and even Uso**_."

"How long will it take him to wake up?" Niijima asked, her eyes worriedly watching their unconscious friend.

"A few minutes." Kaito responded in a heartbeat before gently spinning his rose between his fingers. "While we're waiting, let's move on. Don't want to waste precious trial time."

Koba nodded. Now was the time he could bring up his points from the very beginning. Himura wasn't here to stop him. He needed everyone to listen and right now, all eyes were on him.

"Now, as I started before, isn't it weird that Himura was found unconscious with the bodies?"

"No, you just showed us why that happened." Eguchi remarked, rolling her eyes before she folded her arms. "There's nothing suspicious about it."

"Except when you think more deeply about it. A condition like this should only keep Himura out for a half an hour, tops. However, I found Himura in there early in the morning. Meaning however he passed out had to keep him out for _**Much longer than a half an hour**_."

"Maybe the murder was more recent than we thought." Luna suggested, tapping her finger on her bottom lip as she thought it over. "There isn't anything that puts a time on the murder, right?"

"Wrong again! While I was investigating Sugai's room, _**I found a bloodied suit stuffed under his bed**_." Koba started, though he wasn't surprised when one of his fellow students interrupted him.

"How did you get into his room?" Eguchi asked.

"What does that have to do with a time of murder! A bloody suit is fucked up but it doesn't prove anything." Sweeney countered.

"You're right, but what's important was in his pocket." Koba smile and continued through this new fact. "In the pocket of his jacket I found a note. It said ' _If I don't return to my room in an hour please come back.'_ "

"Wait! But who wrote that note?" Eguchi questioned as she ran her fingers through her hair. "He could have gotten that note from anyone. It could be old for all we know."

"No, I saw Kusonoki write it the night of the party…" Niijima whispered as she started to fidget with the headphones. "I remember how Kusonoki acted the night of the party… she was scared… she said she had to talk to someone but she was afraid she might not make it back. I remember watching her write it but I had no idea who she gave it to… But that's definitely her handwriting. Thinking back… there was a moment before Sugai left that she could have given him that note."

"R-Really?" Koba paused, he didn't know he was going to get such a quick answer for this. But it seemed he found a way to continue without having to push ideas and possibilities onto people. "I mean, of course! But with this note, it proves that the murder had to have happened an hour after the party. That was when Sugai went up to the murder scene!"

"B-But that means Himura should have woken up before the body was discovered!' Iris audibly gasped as she spoke, looking stunned at the idea.

"That's correct, plus my sweet flower girl," Kaito started, running his fingers through his long hair before combing it onto his shoulder. " _ **Plus the Body Discovery Announcement went off twice**_ … at different times. Once when I walked in and again once Himura woke up."

"W-Wait a minute! That doesn't make sense. Monokuma, does the killer count as someone who witnesses the body?" Bellerose desperately tossed the question to the bear, who only shook his head.

"Of course not! What kind of bullshit would that be? A killer would always see the victim so it would just be two witnesses every time if that was true. It's almost like you two can't think for yourself sometimes… YEEESH." Monokuma whined, covering half of his face with his paw.

"So… Himura counted as a witness… that means… He couldn't have been a murderer, right?" Luna rubbed her neck as she pondered over the new facts.

"That doesn't mean he couldn't have killed Kusonoki." Eguchi argued, looking unconvinced by their new line of info. "He could have killed Kusonoki and then someone else could have killed Sugai."

"But why would they go through all of that trouble?" Kaito questioned, spinning the rose between his fingers. His words rolled off his tongue with a sharp sting to them like poison. "If a murder happened, their secret would be secure. There would be no reason to kill another student. In other words, your claim holds no logic."

"Yeah, pretty boys right, that wouldn't make any sense at all." Sato added.

Koba smirked. It seemed everyone was slowly coming around to his logic. They understood that there was a chance that Himura wasn't the killer. He'd successfully opened their eyes to the truth.

"...Uhhhg…" Himura slowly pulled himself to his feet. Rubbing his eyes as he slowly seemed to regain himself. He leaned heavily on the pedestal in front of him. Looking out of breath. "Did… Did I pass out?"

"You sure did," Kaito remarked as he leaned forward. "Do you remember what was happening right before you passed out?"

"Koba… asked me if I was angry? Oh god, did I rage out?" Himura seemed to panic, rubbing his face more as he seemed to be looking for someone who was injured.

"Not at all, darling. You passed out after that." Kaito smirked, a large grin forming over his face. "Do you see what I mean now? Whoever told you you go into a blind rage and then pass out is a liar. You've never killed anyone in your life."

"B-But I'm the only one who had a motive… No one else had a reason to kill Uso except for me. So what if a celebrity was there that day? If she was just passing through then what reason would she have to kill?"

"Please, just listen to us for a moment," Koba begged, "There's proof you couldn't have been the murderer if you'd just-"

"He's right, Kazuki. Open your eyes. The knife was an extremely special knife. Did you have a knife like the one used to stab Uso to death?"

"No but I could ha-"

"Nope, no speculation. A knife like that would be impossible to just come across. Now, I have a more important question. When you woke up, did the back of your head hurt?"

"Yeah… I remember the back of my head hurt so bad… almost like something underneath my skull was about to burst out of my skull." Himura rubbed the back of his head, flinching when he touched it. "Actually… it hurts right now too."

"That's what I thought." Kaito started, looking over at Koba. "Any idea what that might mean, babe?"

"Y-yeah! It sounds like someone cracked you on the back of the head! What a dirty trick!" Koba shouted, clenching his fists tight.

"Wait… that might actually be possible… but how could someone copy that trial… so precisely?" Himura started, his eyes widening as he obviously started to remember something important.

"If you had your ear piece in, you'd know. Monokuma gave Naegi a file containing the old police case." Koba explained. "Komaeda-Sensei told me to ask about it!"

"So… you think there's another student who found the case and then copied it to blame me?" Himura questioned. Slowly it seemed as if the other student was coming around to the idea that maybe someone was trying to frame him. "I'm still not too sure that I didn't do it though. But maybe you're ri-"

"Hold on a minute, there's still one piece of evidence I don't understand if Himura's not the killer…" Niijima spoke up, hugging herself gently, "When I saw K-K- her body, I stepped on something on the floor. At first, I figured it was just a normal coffee bean. But upon further investigation, it became clear to me that it was one of those _**chocolate covered mocha beans**_ Himura loves so much."

"!" Himura's head jolted, his eyes on alert for a moment as he stared her down. Something behind his eyes seemed to churn.

"Aren't you the only one with beans like that Himura? I remember you saying you couldn't find them anywhere else inside the school…" Niijima questioned further as she continued to look worried about the situation.

"You're right… I was the only one with that snack in the whole school" Himura stared as if a beast had just been revealed to him. Pausing for a moment before he stood up completely straight. "But there's a huge problem if they were at the scene because _**I ran out of those after our trip to the beach!**_ "

"Wha-!" Iris gasped. "Then where did these one's come from?"

"I… don't know for sure yet. But now… Now I'm certain someone was trying to frame me…" Himura looked frightened for a moment. "I… I almost got everyone killed because I was so blind to the truth… Koba… can you please finish this for me… and for Kusonoki and Sugai?"

"I wouldn't want anything else." Koba smiled as he moved on, "But since you're a lot more willing to talk, I had a really important question for ya."

"Hit me."

"Did you take a shower after the murder?" Koba asked as he looked Himura over one last time.

The question seemed to confuse him but he slowly gave a nod. "Y-yeah. I couldn't stand the amount of blood that was on my body… I had to get it off."

"Well, last I checked, you can't wash bruises and cuts off, yet for some reason, your entire face is clear."

"! Wait! He's right! You were covered in bruises before you left the room." Iris squealed as she covered her mouth again. "I couldn't stop staring at you when you left, so I remember it clearly. You looked like you were just in a fight."

"I had no idea… I… I just remembered how thick the blood was a-"

"Wait, did you just say thick? What do you mean thick?" Sweeney asked, the artist had remained silent for awhile but he was finally speaking up again.

"It clung to my skin in heavy globs. It seemed… just thick." Himura explained.

'Blood ain't thick, and it don't glob together. That's a real weird way to describe blood." Sweeney rubbed his jaw, also pointing out the points that seemed too weird to let go.

At this very moment, Koba figured it out. He knew who to target because he figured out exactly who the killer was. Everything came together like a dawning light. Now all he had to do now was cement all of the reasoning together. Now was the time to help everyone else come to the same conclusion as him.

"I guess nows the time to reveal something else as well." Koba smiled as he ran back through his notes. "I believe the _**stab wounds on Kusonoki were faked.**_ "

"F-Faked?" Sato said aloud, "How could stab wounds be faked?"

"Why would you think they're fake?" Eguchi tested, her eyes narrowing as she looked at Koba. "Or are you just tossing around ideas and trying to see what will stick?"

"Because the wounds were exactly like the ones in the photo. Weird, right? If this was supposed to be a murder done while someone was in a rage, no one would copy what they've done before. That would be absurd. But looking at this image, the knife wounds are all in the same exact place as the picture. Heck, even the blood splatters are relatively the same."

"That doesn't sound like enough to prove their fake." Bellerose stated. "Do you have anything to add to that?"

"Well, _**the clothes around her wound were perfectly cut,**_ almost as if someone had taken the time to perfectly cut open her shirt where they needed the wounds to be." Koba finished, feeling so good to slowly piece all of those spots together.

"If she didn't die from the knife wounds, then what did she die from?" Eguchi asked, slamming her hand onto the pedestal as she sternly glared over to the skater. Her sharp, fake teeth glistening in the dark.

"She died from a wound to the back of her head. While investigating, Kaito found blood on the back of her scalp. Meaning _**someone had bashed her head in.**_ "

"But with what? You can't do that with a knife, you idiot."

"Oh, I found the murder weapon too. A strange bat inside of Sugai's room. It didn't match the others. It had the name _**Ryan Batter**_ signed onto the wood."

"Ryan Batter?" Kaito paused, a smirk showing on his face. "That's the name of a fictional baseball star. I played him in a movie once. It was a major block buster, of course. If it's signed with the name, that means _**it must be a movie prop.**_ "

"A-A movie prop…" Niijima spoke softly, her hands cupped in front of her chest.

"Sugai had bats in his room, but they were all from professional players who he had encouraged to keep going. They were given to him as thanks for his help and positive attitude… so why would a movie prop be in his room?" Sato asked, her eyes focusing on Koba for answers.

"Because that's where the killer hid all of their tools for murder." Koba responded, "Now, Kaito, do you remember who got to take the bat home?"

"Oh yes, it was the the mastermind behind the special effects of Ryan's face. Specifically when the super star beats another man with his own bat. They gave the bat to them for creating such lovely prosthetics and to help make such a touching scene."

"But… there's only one person here who fits that description…" Luna said softly, her eyes slowly turning to look at Eguchi. Soon, everyone was looking as the Special Effects master began to sweat. She paused, digging through her bag in a hurry.

"Y-You're trying to pin this murder on me? Fuck you!" Eguchi raised her head up, her eyes shining like that of a cat, pupils thin and tainted as they stared him down. "What motive do I even have to kill? Why would I kill two people? Huh? Answer me this?"

"Motive is easy, you killed to protect your secret." Kaito said simply.

"But I told everyone my secret, you idiot." Eguchi snapped back. "Or did you forget? I Wet the bed until I was 15!"

"Eguchi, I'm no idiot. That secret is a lie." Kaito started, setting the rose down one the table as he spoke more. "You think you could reference the first killing game and that I wouldn't notice it? Hun, I played Makoto. I know you worked on that movie as well. You stole that secret from the first trial in order to hide the fact you refused to share your real secret!"

"Right! I do remember watching the movie adaptation…" Sato mumbled, looking even more suspicious. "I remember laughing so hard at that scene."

Eguchi audibly gasped as the attack was thrown at her. She clenched her chest since now she was trembling. "B-But why would I kill Sugai?"

"That's easy, he walked in on the murder. If you had let him go, he would have told everyone. You'd been caught before the body was even discovered." Koba responded to her quickly, not even giving her a chance to catch her breath.

"B-But his throat was slit! How could I even reach up there to do that?"

"That wound was fake too. When I found the suit hidden in his room, I found stab wounds through the chest."

"But Him-"

"You snuck up behind Himura in the hallway, you lured him out and used the fact that the hallways made a complete circle in order to sneak up behind him and bash him on the head."

"No I-"

"Then you used my skateboard to move the bodies where you needed them. Even a heavy guy like Sugai was easy to move with my wheels. You could put him wherever you wanted."

"I-"

"You had everything planned out so perfectly. But your past experience in horror movies really set you back. You used too much blood, you have no idea how much people bleed in real life, do you?"

"STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!" Eguchi screamed at the top of her lungs as her voice seemed to rip through the air like a sharp knife. "Shut up you little fucker. You keep running that mouth of yours but-but-but! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

"Face it Eguchi, there's no way you can wiggle your way out of this." Koba pointed at her, grinning wildly. "Your meltdown proves it all."

"I… I-" Eguchi suddenly started to sob. Tears welling up in her eyes. They started to fall from her face in thick globs as she realized how cornered she really was. "I killed Kusonoki and Sugai! I-I got Himura to check the hall after I made a loud noise. I used the round hallways to come up behind him and hit him. Then I came into the cafe and bashed Kusonoki's head in. I put everyone in their places in order to copy the murder. But when I was halfway through setting it up, Sugai walked in… he didn't see Kusonoki's dead body at first. He just grabbed by shoulder and… and tried to talk me out of it… he- he thought he could still save me."

Eguchi continued to sob, clutching at her chest as she swallowed even harder. "I got so mad at him… Mad that he trusted me sooo much that he thought he could stop me. So I stabbed him… I- he coughed up blood so I stabbed him again, and again- and again and *sob* I put the knife in Himura's hand and I dropped the few beans I had left on the floor and I went back to my room and I waited…. And when Himura got up and said he didn't it… I was happy… because I thought I had gotten away with murder."

"But what secret was worth all of this? What did you need to hide that was this important?" Sato asked. "What was worth killing our friends to keep from us?"

"I… Even now I can't say… Even now I'm still ashamed of who I am…" Eguchi whimpered, her soggy, red eyes focusing on Koba… as if he knew something else.

"...Was… Did you come from a DRC?" Sato spoke again, this time, she slowly took her finger of her ear piece.

"A Despair Recovery Center… How did you… Either way… I guess its good you know… That I used to he a monster… My mother and I were infected with despair. When the world started to change, they gathered us up and put us in that place… it was- it was nice. It freed us from the chains of memory and I was able to leave… but when people know you were locked up there… they look at you different. They don't trust you.. they think you're still filled with despair." Eguchi let out a long, drawn out sigh. "You know what I'm talking about, right Kobayashi?"

"Why would I know?" Koba asked, confused why she was suddenly talking directly to him. Everything was still fuzzy from the story she'd just told. But he didn't know why she targeted him.

"You don't have to play dumb, Koba. There's no way your secret was the truth." Eguchi wiped a few tears from her eyes as she spoke. "Stop pretending you don't understand… at least give me some reassurance that it's true… that place is a place worth escaping."

"I-I really don't know what you're talking about." Koba confessed once more. His confusion running high at this point.

"Koba I kne-"

"So, are you all ready to vote?" Monokuma asked, breaking up Eguchi's words and looking over the entire class.

No one hesitated. The answer was easily solved as they all reached out and voted for their dear friend Eguchi in silence. This time, however, after voting there was no time in between her talking and her execution.

The teachers reached the bottom just in time for Monokuma to speak again. Komaeda staring down his own student as she was dragged away. His face was almost unreadable as he carefully watched the fate of the killer.

"I think you've spoke enough." Monokuma remarked as he started to drag her away from the rest of the group. "This trial took waaaay too long. I'm so ready to watch you die."

"Now, Everyone get ready! It's Punishment Time! Who's ready to see the execution of the Ultimate Special Effects master?!"

 **Class execution of Saya Eguchi**

 **Childhood Monsters**

 _There she was. Suddenly in a large, childlike bedroom. Eguchi found herself sitting on the bed. Looking around, she found everything was stylized in a realistic yet off putting way. That's when she heard it, the heavy footsteps that made the room start to shake. Fear began to pile in her gut with each step._

 _thump_

 _Thump_

 _THUMP_

 _P_

 _a moment of silence followed. Eguchi felt her mouth grow dry as she watched the bedroom door. Her hear pounding as she watched it closely. Her eyes fitted with the deep, dark fear of her life ending. She could almost feel the familiar sensation she had known so well as a child. The despair was slowly welling up in her chest. But even in these final moments, she refused to let it control her like it had her mother for so many years._

 _Suddenly the bedroom door burst open and pieces of wood blasted across the room, sticking onto the wall behind her and forming her silhouette in the wall behind her. Eguchi had almost taking the shards into her face if she hadn't grabbed the pillow off the bed. Now the soft fabric was lodged with the sharp pieces of wood._

 _Quietly, Eguchi set the pillow aside, tossing it onto the bed as she looked towards the door. But… there was nothing there but a small, Monokuma shaped doll. Swallowing hard, Eguchi snatched up the lamp next to the bed before hopping onto the floor and slowly walking towards the door._

 _The special effects artist was unaware of where the true evil lurked as she slowly inched herself closer to the bear. Lamp held up high as she was about to strike. Hands shaking as fear caused her body to tremble. With a long, solid breath, she striked down on the plushy, only to be scared by the sudden, loud squeak of a toy._

 _Pausing, she stared at in confusion. But she didn't have long to ponder as she felt cold hands wrap around her ankles. Her mouth opened, an attempt to cry for help tried to crawl its way out before she was forced down, causing her to smash her head onto the floor. She was barely conscious as the monster dragged her under the bed._

 _The bed bobbed and snarls escaped from underneath. The sickening sound of flesh tearing sounded from underneath the bed. Occasionally, blood splattered out from the dark crack of the bed. After one last, sickening crunch, everyone could hear a long, unsettling stream of silence. Everyone watched as the bed slowly folded upwards, revealing the mangled, destroyed corpse of Saya Eguchi. The Special Effects Master was almost completely unrecognizable in this pulpy state._

* * *

The world outside the execution was even more torn as a loud, scream of pain filled the air. Everyone turned to see Komaeda collapse to the ground. The sickly man looked as if he'd been broken. His thin fingers were digging at his scalp, as if they were trying to pry open his brain.

"Komaeda?" Hajime tried to pick him off the ground but it seemed the white haired man had become some boneless creature. "Are you okay?"

"Oops!" Monokuma laughed as he walked out of the back room. His annoying grin beaming at them as they worried about their pained teacher and newly dead friends. "I guess Nagito wasn't healthy enough to handle the memories."

Hajime swallowed hard, scooping up Komaeda and working to carry him up the stairs as the teacher now flopped around like a boneless noodle. His head down on the other teacher's shoulder as he tried his hardest to carry him up the stairs. It only took a few moments for Kaito to jog over, the tall actor easily scooping the teacher off his feet and carrying him up the stairs.

At this moment, Koba felt overwhelmed. Why had Eguchi singled him out? Despair Recovery Centers were for people plagued with the monstrous feeling. His family grew up in a peaceful home in the suburbs… they'd never even been touched by despair… so why… why had she tried to out to him like that… why… why were her final words to him.

Plus… the name Eun Rhee left a burn in his mind, almost like someone had used it to put out their cigarette. He had never even heard of that name before but she was apparently some amazing skater… He felt as if he knew more than he was telling himself. Maybe he'd seen her on television before… If she was famous, that would make sense.

Silence followed as most of the students pulled themselves away from the sight. A gruesome scene that everyone flinched away from. Niijima was one of the last to turn away, her face blank as she silently stared into the distance. She only turned away once the gentle hand of Luna was rested onto her shoulder. Fear seemed to leak out from the groups as another one of their fellow students perished at their hands. Yet, two other students had perished at her hands…

Everyone around him was still stunned, their eyes glued to the bloody mess that used to be Saya Eguchi. Blood slowly seeped from her wounds, creating a puddle around her body like a small lake filled with… regrets. Koba felt his mouth go dry. Small bolts clicking in the back of his head. An ominous sound as it seemed to tick like an ancient clock. Eguchi's long, black hair mixing with the pink on the ground like some kind of bridge to hell and Koba watched as it was slowly swallowed by the rising waters. His head started to spin, his world slowly moving underneath his feet and he felt like he could no longer stand. In a way, he caused this. Without his help on this case, Eguchi never would have died.

"It's hard… isn't it?" Himura asked, though his voice barely pulled Koba out of this twisting vortex of feelings.

"Yeah." Was Koba's answer. He knew what the barista meant, even if he didn't address it directly.

"I'm sorry you had to do it this time… I should have been more vigilant to what was going on."

"Don't apologize. No one should have to do this alone." Koba turned, looking at his friend with the most serious look he could muster. "From now on, I'll always have your back. I'll do anything I can to help."

"But will it matter… won't this end with only one survivor?" Himura's gaze drifted as he looked out over to the ocean of gore that was once their friend. "Is there even any point?"

"I'll make sure we live through this." Koba felt that surge in his chest again. The great desire held within him to protect his friends as he moved his hand to hover over his heart, almost as if he could feel the warmth radiating from deep within his heart. "I'll do everything in my power to protect my friends."

"Koba… I… I'm sorry I was so selfish."

"Selfish… how were you selfish?" Koba probed gently. Catching the slight, painful tinge drifting inside his words.

"I think a part of me knew I didn't do it… that I should help investigate and find the truth. But a bigger part of me just wanted all of it to be over. Not just the game either but life too. It felt like an easy way out. I don't want to stay here but I don't want to go home either. A large part of me wants to just melt away from this world, as if everyone would be better off without me." Himura sighed, an exhausted sound that seemed to come from every muscle in his body.

Koba wasn't too sure what to say, but something in his words made the flame in his chest ignite. Without thinking, he reached over, gripping the other student's shoulder as he smiled, pulling himself from the world around him to take this time for his friend. "Himura, _**when**_ we get out of here, things will get better. I promise you things will get better. Together, we can stop the mastermind."

Himura paused before chuckling weakly. "I don't know how you stay so confident, Koba. But I'll be looking forward to the day we both make it out of here. Now let's get out of here… we can talk more tomorrow." Himura turned to leave, heading up the elevator door to catch up with their friends. Koba followed behind closely, but found his gaze drifting to lock onto the bear. The thing was standing near the glass, stuffed arms dangling near his side as he stared back into the execution room. His emotionless face staring off into the bloody mess of Eguchi. What kind of sicko would be controlling that monster. What kind of person would willingly watch the dead body of such a young girl for so long.

Koba looked forward, clenching his fists as he headed to the elevator. No matter who was doing this, he would stop them from hurting anyone else.

...Even if it killed him...


	15. BAD Girls and More!

_It looked like a storm was brewing overhead. Dark thunder clouds were thick in the sky as Himura ran towards the school. If he didn't hurry, he was going to get soaked in the rain. The last thing he wanted was to sit through school sopping wet._

 _His feet splashed into the puddles, sending muddy droplets up his already worn down jeans. If he continued on like this, he'd be an even bigger mess than normal. Everyone already thought he was a freak. The last thing he needed to do was come into class a muddy mess. Hell, Himura wasn't even sure why he bothered trying at this point._

 _After a few more steps, Himura was pelted with rain. It was coming down so hard it was stinging when it hit his skin._

 _Dammit! Looked like he was going to go into school looking like a washed up, dirty rat. He tried to pull his bookbag over his head. At this very moment he really wished he had the money to buy an umbrella. The rain would sting a lot less against his skin with a nice bubble umbrella. His worn, dirty shoes were letting water in, soaking his feet and socks inside the fabric. He really wished he could have the chance to buy new shoes. He looked down just in time so see his foot cascade down into a hole in the sidewalk._

 _He fell, smashing down hard onto the sidewalk. The hard cement scraping against the skin of his face. Roughly tearing at the palms of his hands as he tried to catch himself. Water seemed to splash over him as he just laid there for a few moments. Water beating down on him in heavy waves. He tried to pull himself together as he laid there on the ground, bleeding out onto the thick stone below him. His fist clenched as he tried to get his shit together but he couldn't help the tears welling up in the corner of his eyes, burning them as he tried to hold them back._

 _For a moment he paused, suddenly the rain wasn't blasting down onto him. For some reason, something was blocking the rain from him. Slowly he turned upwards, looking as a pale, lanky hand held an umbrella over him._

" _Looks like someone is having a rough day." Komaeda said before offering a hand to help his student back to his feet. While all of his steps were pre-planned he experienced the confusion of seeing his teacher once again. He'd been absent for at least three months for now. Himura remembered that Komaeda was in the hospital… that he had been in critical care. He knew for a fact that his teacher wasn't supposed to be out on his own._

" _Wh-what are you doing here, Sensei?" Himura questioned as he finally got to his feet, enjoying the sudden relief from the rain. "Shouldn't you be in the hospital?"_

" _Treatment has been going a lot better than expected. I was on my way to visit Hajime at school." Komaeda smiled, running his fingers through his slightly damp hair. "Though I wasn't prepared for this horrid weather."_

 _Himura went to respond, to thank his teacher for the help, except he was interrupted as Nagito suddenly burst into a harsh coughing fit. His frail body trembling as his tough exterior seemed to chip away. Himura swallowed hard, knowing the teacher wasn't supposed to wander on his own._

" _Would you like to walk to school with me?" Komaeda asked, rummaging through his bag and pulling out a small, pink umbrella. "I have a spare if you really need it."_

 _Himura carefully took the small, pink princess umbrella before holding it over his head. It did a good job in covering what couldn't be encompassed under Komaeda's large, plastic dome._

" _Don't be alarmed but there was someone following you. I was concerned at first, but I wouldn't worry about it." Komaeda whispered as he grabbed the umbrella._

 _Himura's eyes grew wide for a moment. He knew the teacher was known to be delusional but this seemed like something too serious to be talked about so casually._

" _He's one of your classmates so I wouldn't worry. I think he's just making sure you get around safely." Komaeda added, a weird sense of pleasure hung in his voice. "I've talked to him about it. Said he's just worried about you."_

 _Himura glanced behind them, but he didn't see anyone who stuck out. Just a guy walking around with their umbrella a few yards back but he looked like just a regular guy. Had Komaeda mistaken a random civilian for a fellow student? Was he really that sick._

" _Isn't Hinata-Sama going to be mad that you're randomly coming to school?" Himura asked as he looked back towards the school. His eyes slowly focusing back onto his teacher._

" _Oh, it doesn't matter." Komaeda sighs as he fidgeted with his damp hair more. Thin fingers tossing the white strands around like limp noodles. "He'll be glad to see that I'm awake at this point."_

 _The two kept walking towards the school The building was slowly looming over them into the distance. They were both almost to their destination, Himura just prayed that the weak, feeble Komaeda could make it there. But his words made him worry about him for a few moments. If he really had been in bed this entire time was it really a good idea for him to be walking around in the cold? Himura swore he heard Koba say something about his immune system being extremely weak due to the cancer…_

" _So you're starting your final year. Are you excited for the final exam? Hajime said as long as I'm better by then that I'm allowed to be one of the judges." Komaeda smiled, obviously proud of this fact as he adjusted the umbrella over his shoulder._

" _I...I Don't know what I'll do yet…" Himura sighed, glancing down at the ground for a moment. "I-I don't even want to think about the end of this year. I really don't want school to be over."_

" _Well that's the first time I've ever heard someone say that!" Komaeda offered a weak chuckle, which did break into a few coughs. "Are you afraid? Is that why you don't want this year to end?"_

" _Is it that obvious... " Himura said softly, his eyes looking back over to the pale, washed out eyes of his teacher. "Or have you just figured me out?"_

" _Ah, Well, what are you afraid of?" Komaeda asked gently, the teacher leaned closer, tipping his umbrella as a few more drops on the umbrella formed together into a stream as it fell down to the ground, splashing near the teacher's loafers._

" _Everything I guess… Mainly what happens after school. We're supposed to have guaranteed success after we graduate… Right? But I don't really know what I'll do. I know I'll pass the final exams, I have no doubt in my ability. It's just… I've tried to run a cafe before but… it didn't work out before so why would now be any different."_

 _Komaeda remained silent for a few moments. Silence weighed heavy on his chest as it seemed to weigh him down. What was he supposed to do after? Most people who came into the school were popular before they entered the door. They had fans, people who adored and admired them. A long line of people who envied their talents. But Himura, he had been discovered by mistake. His talent had been overlooked for years, missed by the public and never spread along. It's why A New Home had to be shut down, it was why Uso Tsuki died… The problem was never Himura's talents… It was just Himura._

 _Who would ever want to go to a cafe owned by someone who was such a walking disaster. All of his failed relationships, adoptions, the mess that was his life, that was all his own fault. His life had always been a train wreck but sometimes he just really wanted to believe he was a good person. That he was someone worth something in this world. But every night, every moment of silence he was reminded of how false his reality was. How he was meant to be alone…_

" _You're a Super High School Level Barista, Himura! You can do whatever you want. You can open up the biggest, best cafe anyone has ever seen. You shouldn't doubt yourself so much." They were on the final stretch of road before reaching the school. Himura couldn't help but take small note of the large amount of traffic blasting through the area. "But, if anything goes wrong you're always welcomed to stay with me."_

 _Himura stared at the teacher for a long period of time. He didn't know what to say, the words never seemed to properly leave his mouth for a moment. The idea was astonishing. Why would anyone invite him back into his home. He was an absolute mess personality wise. He didn't speak, so Komaeda must have taken it as a sign to keep on going._

" _It wouldn't be a problem. Hajime thinks you're a pretty great kid too. Not to mention the fact that K-" Komaeda suddenly stopped. Himura could remember the sluggish movement of his body. He wasn't fast enough to catch the sickly teacher as he started to plummet into the road. Fainting faster than Himura could ever respond to. Cars were coming in fast, blurring the edges of the memory as Himura reached out to grab his teacher._

But even now, recalling the past event that Himura had forgotten until now, the barista knew he was too slow to save his teacher…

 _So thank god for the blur of a person who moved as fast as possible. As the vision darkened, he barely saw the figure scoop Komaeda out of the air, preventing the sickly teacher's death. Himura, for a moment, remembered how thankful he'd felt as the other student saved his teacher's life._

Himura woke up from his rest and rubbed his head. Still he found himself waking up feeling drained with a massive migraine. Usually these kinds of things happened when he didn't have any coffee. It seemed the more he drank, the less he felt the same pain and exhaustion, yet there was still something missing. Like some kind of element was keeping him thirsting for something… else.

Sighing, he started with his normal morning routine, grabbing a warm, soothing cup of coffee. Taking a deep breath, Himura slowly got ready for another day. He wondered why he was so tired, hoping it was just the school taking his life away from him, but it felt like something more than he'd usually feel. Sure, Himura was usually feeling more stunted emotions, sometimes faced with overwhelming sadness and paranoia. But his emotional issues never caused him to feel physically nauseous like this… Something felt very, very wrong inside of his body, but he wasn't sure what.

Himura was almost surprised that no one had knocked on his door yet. So far this year, anytime when he'd sleep in, someone always came knocking at his door. He wondered why no one had come when… slowly it dawned at him.

Yesterday was… a mess. Himura was still trying to work through his emotions and figure out what the hell happened. It wasn't the first time he'd broken down like that and probably wouldn't be the last. His mind had felt as if it was falling into quicksand, slowly being swallowed down into an empty hole underneath it all. The last time this had happened… the last time he almost died.

He came to wonder why they weren't at his door. Trying to decide if it was because they thought he needed space or… if they were afraid of the side they had seen of them the day before. He must have looked like some kind of freak, rambling on about murders, motives, and the feeling of blood. Taking another long, deep breath as he tied on his apron, Himura readied himself to face their gazes. To take in the consequences of his actions.

He was ready to face the fact that the most likely result of his spectacle was that no one probably wanted to deal with him any longer. That he'd finally lost those friends he didn't deserve in the first place.

 _Tap, Tap, Tap._

A gentle knock sounded on the door. Soft and frail as it sounded through the room. Himura ruffled his own hair as he walked over, tossing on his worn beanie as he slowly went to open the door.

"Morning Himura- uh -" Iris paused, glancing around as she thought over what to say. Her gentle hands cradling a small plate of pastries. "OH! Himura-Kun I got you some treats to make sure you're feeling well! After yesterday I wanted to make sure you were okay…"

Himura paused and couldn't stop the slight smile at her choice of honorifics. He knew that the gardener was from America. It was cute how she was at least trying. He gently took the plate away from her to look over the large cake that rested on the top. The smell of coffee seemed to float off of it.

"I know it's not a breakfast food but Kaito said you'd really like it! Bellerose knew the recipe off the top of her head from a time she visited Italy. So we made if for you to try and make you feel better."

"You… made this for me?" Himura questioned, watching the plate with a surprised gaze. This wasn't what he had expected at all. A part of his mind couldn't even grasp what was really going on.

"Of course! There's a whole cake in the kitchen but you gotta come and get it!" Iris said with a smile as she cupped her hands in front of her lap.

Himura smiled softly, unsure of how to react to her kindness. "What about you? How are you feeling after yesterday."

"Honestly… How could I ever be alright after what happened." Iris looked as if she was caught off guard by the question. Her smile slowly fading down into a worried smile as her soft hand titled the brim of her hat down over her face a bit as it cast a shadow over the soft features of her face. "But I made an important conclusion after what happened yesterday."

"Oh? What might that be?" Himura questioned as he took a moment to fidget with the small metal fork on the plate with the slice of cake.

"Well… after what happened yesterday I realized that I can't pull away from you guys like I did before… After Yunokawa tried to pin the murder on me I- I didn't trust you guys. I thought that you all would be trying to do the same to me. To get me to trust you before using me like some kind of tool." Iris swallowed hard, taking a moment to take a nice, long breath before letting the brim of her hat go, bouncing gently on the top of her head. "But staying quiet last time almost got everyone killed. The fact that I was so reluctant to participate… I can't let that happen again. From now on, I won't back away! I'm here for you till the very end. I'm ready to fight for my friends."

Himura paused, it was something he had thought about a lot. All his life he'd pulled away from people. Emotional connections rarely seemed to stick for him, just momentary relationships that soon crumbled underneath his own emotional instability. But he had felt something similar. When he had seen Hotta's bloodied mess of a body he had felt that same determination race through his veins. The need to do whatever he could to figure out the truth behind the events. He knew it was not to save himself, if he died, he wouldn't care if he didn't make it through this. His need to finish this was to protect the people around him.

He had felt the sudden desire to try and hold on to these people had been overwhelming. Himura couldn't help but the smile that crossed his face. He watched Iris closely as he just seemed to… understand.

"A-Are you okay?" Iris suddenly looked worried by his actions, her eyes wide as she watched the Barista over. Guess it was a little weird to suddenly start smiling after a confession like this.

"I'm just glad that you're here to help." Himura said softly, letting a little chuckle rise up from his throat as he looked over his friend. "I'm so glad that we'll get through this together."

Iris smiles and bounces slightly on her toes. Now that Himura reminisced on the idea, he realized he hadn't seemed too happy lately. Not since they found that body in the garden had he seen her as happy as she used to be. A big grin spread over her round face. "I'm just glad to finally help my friends."

"You've always been a big help, Iris." Himura said softly, patting his friend's shoulder, squeezing it gently in an effort to reassure her. The happiness he felt was slight but it was more than usual. It felt… good.

Iris gave a big smile, giggling before her soft features hardened with determination. "We have to hurry up and eat! There's a whole new floor to explore."

Himura pulled his hand away, tucking his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he slumped back over. "You're right, another floor should have opened up."

Iris nodded, a smile stayed on her face until she rested her gaze on a room a few doors down. Her smile slowly fading before she let out a long sigh. "I tried to see how Koba was doing this morning but he wouldn't come out of his room… He told me he was tired… Do you think he's okay?"

"Let's just give him some time alone," Himura suggested as he tried to pull his own mind away from the scientist's strange behavior. "Maybe the memories he got back were too much for him to handle today? Or he might still be exhausted from yesterday."

"R-Right! I felt really tired after I got these new memories back." Iris sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. "I don't understand anything that's going on."

"Well, maybe this new floor will shed some light on why we're here." Himura said as he started to walk towards the kitchen. Seemed like the best place to gather for now. While he was walking, he grabbed the fork off the plate, carefully taking a bite from the cake as he walked into the room.

"...Himura, darling… are you okay?" Kaito asked, taking a step forward as the two entered the door.

Himura turned up from the delicious sponge like cake to look as the actor approached the two. "Yeah, I'm fine, just enjoying this wonderful cake. How is it so good?"

"I knew you'd like it," Bellerose strolled to the front of the group as she ran her hand through her hair. "The cake itself is soaked in coffee so I knew it was for you.'

"Well, you were right." Himura said as he shoveled the rest of the cake into his mouth. He dropped the plate onto one of the tables as he chewed on the delectable treat inside of his mouth as the soft, moist cake melted in his mouth. "I've surprisingly never had this before."

"Well, there's a whole 'nother cake in there for when we finish investigating." Kaito smiled as he reached behind him, grabbing a pot of coffee and a cup and handing it over to Himura. It felt a bit like… pampering. Himura kinda liked it."But first we have to explore the fourth floor, are you up for that, Himura?"

"Yeah, let's get this done." Himura said as he looked over the room. It was weird to see everyone gathered around… just a few people standing around in the large kitchen was disconcerting. Sato stood behind Bellerose as her tall figure seemed to follow the chef almost like a shadow. Then there was Niijima, quietly standing near the seamstress, the DJ's eyes glued to the ground as the skin around her eyes was red and fleshy. Most of the gang was here. There was only nine students left in the school and with Koba and Sweeney gone… the room felt even emptier. "Has anyone seen Sweeney?"

"He went on ahead. He got tired of waiting for everyone to gather this morning." Luna spoke up, the seamstress looked a little more… lost in thought than usual as she seemed to stare off into one of the corners. "He's probably already up there…"

"Well, that sounds like our cue to leave." Himura said, moving to take his coffee as he headed out towards the door of the dining room.

Himura was almost too slow to jump out of the way as the door to the dining room swung open. Himura actually felt the long fingers grab onto the back of his sweater as he was tugged away from the incoming wooden frame.

"Careful now." The deep, mysterious voice of Tanaka sounded as he moved to try and stop the door that was sent flying by his pink haired co worker. "You almost obliterated one of our dear students in another moment of foolishness."

"Wha- No he's fine!" Souda growled, rolling his room as he lead the rest of the teachers into the room. "Stop worrying so much."

"Do not be so foolish," Tanaka started, the two teachers leading the way for the rest to enter the room. ...Every teacher except Komaeda. The white haired teacher must still be out cold.

"Good morning everyone." Makoto said as they all gathered in the room. "We figured we would help you guys explore the next floor."

"Sounds like a decent plan." Bellerose strolled forward, her hand on her hip as she looked around. "I suggest we split into two groups. I want to go with Naegi since he's my teacher and all."

The chef stood next to Makoto as she ran her her fingers through her long pony tail once more. "And as long as I'm not speaking out of place, two teachers per group sounds like a good idea. Maybe Hinata and Naegi in one and Tanaka and Souda leading the other one."

"I don't have a problem with that." Makoto responded with a smile before his gaze seemed to lock onto Kaito.

The actor seemed to notice this as well because his hand grabbed Himura by the wrist and dragged them both over to the other group. "I wanted to spend a little more time with Tanaka-San anyways."

Makoto had a slightly confused look before sighing. Everyone seemed pretty quiet as the groups seemed to be divided up. Niijima and Luna seemed to hurry over to the same team as Himura, moving much faster and giving the other two little time to respond. Iris paused for a moment as she looked obviously confused why she couldn't follow her own teacher out on exploration. With a sad huff she followed Sato over to the other group.

"We shall reconnect after our exploration into the dark of this unexplored world." Tanaka spoke towards the other group before flicking his scarf over his shoulder, allowing it to flow in the air for just a moment as they headed up the stairs.

Everything was pretty quiet for a while, since falling over the group as they headed up the stairs. When they went over the third floor, Himura couldn't help but stare over towards the cafe. He couldn't re enter it at this very moment but maybe one day he could enjoy the brewing fragrance of it all like he had before the murder.

The new floor was darker than the others, the lights dimmer than the other floors. The doors seemed more spread out than the ones below, not nearly as close knit as all of the other rooms on the other floors. But one door seemed to catch Himura's gaze right away. Straight down the hall there was a door that seemed brighter than all of the others. Himura swallowed hard as the group seemed to have something else in mind… Looked like they were headed to a different room first.

Inside the first door to their right was a physics room. It seemed like a pretty basic classroom but just larger. The seats seemed to be pushed back in order to allow demonstrations and showings of how physics work. A pile of objects laid in one of the corners made of materials used for such examples and labs. One thing that really caught Himura's attention was a long, thick rope.

"Uck, Physics is so boring." Souda groaned as he scratched the top of his head under his hat. "I don't see anything important in this room, do you Gundam?"

"I feel as if we can progress further in our investigation." Tanaka responded, already on his way to the door in silence. "We have a lot of ground to cover so let us not waste our precious time."

The next room looked more like a laboratory. The desks were covered in microscopes and test tube holders. There was even a pile of petri dishes piled up on one of the tables. Everything someone could need for some scientific research. Up against the wall to the left was a large cabinet filled with chemicals and bottles. There was no doubt that this was a chemistry room.

The group only seemed to glance around for a few minutes before moving on to the next room. The next room was dark. It was hard to see where they were going or even find a chance to find the lights so that they could see.

"Don't move!" Souda shouted in the dark, taking inside the room. "Give me a few seconds and I'll find the light."

The group could hear the sound of the teacher's hands pat around as they tried to search out some kind of light source. Himura couldn't help wonder what to do in this awkward moment in the pitch darkness. What else was he supposed to do but stare off into the dark void surrounding them?

"Do NOT touch me." Tanaka's voice cut through the darkness for a moment, causing Himura to jump slightly in surprise.

"I wasn't _trying_ to. It was an accident. Maybe you should get the hell out of my way?" Souda snarled in response.

"How am I supposed to avoid you if I cannot see you."

"I dunno! You're the one who claims to have weird supernatural abilities and garbage like that. Use them to see me and get outta my way!"

"Just get your filthy mortal hands of me!"

The fight continued on as the teachers seemed to bicker in the darkness of the room. It didn't really seem like an appropriate use of their time but stopping their fight felt like too much effort. It seemed like they might tire themselves out on their own. Now that sounded like wishful thinking to Himura.

When the lights flashed, causing Himura to have to blink to adjust to the sudden change of lighting. His eyes hit Kaito first, the actor suddenly looking frustrated as his finger was still resting on the newly discovered light switch. His frustration only continuing as he glanced over at the two teachers on the other side of the platform."

"You have to be kidding me…"

All the student's eyes turned to face the teachers and all of them were equally… startled? Himura wasn't really sure how he felt as he saw the two teachers locked together, caught in the light as if the bright, yellow beams froze them in their very spots. The gruff, mysterious Tanaka looked unfazed as his lips were locked with the mechanic, but the other teacher looked as if he was about to die. Face tugged into a tight mask of fear. After a moment of being frozen in fear, Souda shoved Tanaka back as he quickly stumbled to regain himself… what an actual mess.

"So, see anything important?" The teacher was obviously trying to brush over what just happened, Himura was about to go along with it before another voice sounded through the room. Tanaka moved to follow, looking more confused than anything.

"What, even now you two can't figure this crap out?" Monokuma giggled as he covered his mouth, his soulless, beady eye staring down the two as he spoke. "Or does your foreplay always start like this?"

"Sh-Shut up! It's not what it looks like!" Souda was whining at this point, smashing his foot on the ground. "We were fighting!"

"That's pretty kinky foreplay, then." Monokuma snickered as he looked over the area. "Anyways, I didn't come to watch your freak show. I came to introduce you all to the Monokuma Theater!"

The small bear walked out, walking through the rows and rows of seats towards the stage. The lights flashing on as they followed him down to the stage. Spotlights following the bear down the alley as if he was the star of some kind of show.

"Gasp! A Theater!" Kaito pressed the back of his wrist to his forehead as he gazed over the stage. "I might faint I'm so excited! I missed the feeling of the lights on my skin, the drama of a good performance!"

"Well feel free to use my special theater to quench that thirst!" Monokuma snickered as he bounced around on the stage of the theater. "I don't use it very often."

"The joy of this place fills me with such passion, it's almost impossible to explain the pure joy I feel at this very moment. I can finally express my feelings for the stage and my passion for the show." Kaito pulled a rose from his jacket, clenching the rose tight in his hands before dropping to the ground, posing his legs as he dropped his rose onto his chest. The headlights directed onto Kaito, targeting him and shining down on him, causing him to almost sparkle.

"What a drama queen…" Monokuma grumbled, rubbing his paw against one of his cheeks before looking over at the others. "Well, I hope you all have fun exploring this new floor! There's a ton of tidbits and information scattered around for you losers!"

Monokuma gave a wave as he exited the room. Disappearing into one of the dark corners of the room before leaving the four students and two teachers alone in the large, empty theater.

"Well, he was acting a little odd, don't you think?" Luna pondered as she looked over her fellow classmates.

"When doesn't he act 'odd'" Kazuchi remarked as he waved his hand towards the door. "I don't think there's anything else we need here. Let's get moving. This place gives me the creeps."

Himura looked towards the stage. Something inside of him told him he was going to have to pry Kaito out of this room to get him to keep going. To drag him out by the collar of his sheer white shirt and into the next room. The man had waited so long for this return of the limelight. With a playful sigh, he turned to get Kaito, only to see the student was already on his way to the door.

"Ready to keep going, Himura?" Kaito asked as he opened the door for the barista. "We still have a lot of rooms to explore."

Himura blinked for a moment… He was surprised by his friend's behavior. Maybe he had judged him too quickly. Making assumptions wasn't what he needed to do with his new… friend? Were they still only at the friend level or were they past that at this point. As Himura left the room, he glanced up at the pretty face of the actor just as he remembered their kiss.

...That was something they would have to talk about later.

As they left the room, Himura realized they had gotten through one side of the rooms. Now they were standing just outside the room that had first sparked Himura's interests. One room that seemed brighter than the rest in this dark hallway. Silently he watched as everyone approached the door. Now was his time to explore the room that had called to him since they first arrived on this floor. Something just told him that there were some kind of answers inside.

"This entryway leads into the Headmaster's Office... " Tanaka spoke, one of his eyes peaking out from in between his fingers as he peered out at the door.

Souda looked it over before nodding his hat bouncing with the wide motion of his head. "I remember this from the plans when we were putting the building together! We all decided this was where the office should go!"

"Most likely the door will be sealed with some unseen evil." Tanaka warned as Niijima went to try and open it, "There is no way such a precious area has been left unguarded in thi-"

Niijima quietly pushed the door open, looking over at her teachers with a soft, quiet gaze. Tanaka snapped his mouth shut as he watched her, looking slightly stressed as they looked on into the room.

"Guess you were wrong!" Souda gave his gross, shit eating grin as he held up a hand to high five Niijima. "Good job showing him up, Niijima!"

Niijima looked at his hand before sighing softly. Her sore, red eyes looking down to the ground as she dragged her feet across the ground and slowly headed into the dark room.

Souda swallowed as he watched his student sulk into the room as he quickly crammed his hand into one of the pants of his pocket. He obviously didn't know how to respond to his student's distress at the moment, so for now he just followed her inside.

The room inside was pretty big for an office. Straight down the center was a large, well crafted desk. The room had a giant window facing out to the front of school, however the windows had been boarded shut, just like the other windows in the house. Himura imagined that if the window was freed of this imprisonment that they would have a beautiful view of the school's entrance. The walls of the room were well crafted, hanging up very professional portraits and art pieces you'd imagine you'd find in a headmaster's office. Most of the important looking items seemed to be stacked up on Makoto Naegi's desk.

Himura walked up, taking a look over the desk in silence. Niijima and Luna just seemed to watch him quietly as he began to search through the contents laid out before him. A pile of papers laid in front of the chair but the barista was distracted by something else first… Near the edge of the desk were several picture frames, all seeming to depict family like portraits. One had a young, small kid with fluffy red hair and a large tooth gap. The child's face was covered in freckles and he seemed to be laughing at the camera. There was a photo of Makoto with all of the other students from the first killing game, cute how they all looked like one big family.

But the last two are what really caught his attention. There was one that had the headmaster and Kaito smashed into the same, tiny little frame, the Actor was holding the camera far above their heads to get a good view bellow to take a picture of the two. And if that wasn't weird enough… there was a small, square frame with only Kaito in it.

...What kind of headmaster had pictures of one of his students?

"Wh- Kaito? Why does Naegi-San have this on his desk?" Himura said as his mind raced to pick up reasons that Naegi would have pictures of his student but most of the reasons that popped into his head were… unsavory and completely out of character.

Kaito paused, looking over the pictures before covering his mouth and letting out a chuckle. A laugh that sounded as if Himura had missed something fairly obvious. "Darling, don't tell me you don't know?"

Himura gently shook his head as he looked at the actor's stare. The actor had a weird look that really drove home that Himura was missing something serious. What… were things really that obvious. Some kind of clue that he easily missed about this… relationship.

"Himura, you sweat, innocent soul," Kaito smiled as he slowly placed his finger under Himura's chin to slowly lift it up closer to the Actor's long, slender face. "How could you not know that Makoto's my dad?"

Himura hadn't expected this… frankly, he was really afraid this was about to go in a completely different direction than this. But… even now, he couldn't form any sort of resemblance. Himura tried to picture Naegi and Kaito both in the same room but none of their features… matched. Makoto had such a round, fat face and Kaito had the slender face of a god. Makoto was one of the shortest mid 30 year old he ever met while Kaito was a slender beauty. Nothing matched up, even their hair didn't seem to match up at all, though both of them were fairly fluffy. Looking around, Himura saw he was the only one who looked surprised by this news.

"D-Did everyone already know this?" He asked, still a little shaken.

"Yeah, thought it was kind of obvious." Luna shrugged, "Makoto is always checking up on him and he's not even in her class."

Niijima didn't speak but she gave a soft nod.

At this point, Himura felt like an idiot for not noticing sooner. Naegi even referred to Kaito in a much more familiar way than any teacher would ever address a student. It also explained why Naegi had always showed up to check on how Kaito was holding up. Reflecting on these facts made Himura feel like a complete idiot but to be fair… he never really had a good example of what a good father and son relationship should look like. Actually he'd never seen any good examples of parental relationships.

"Sorry I didn't say anything, honey, I thought everyone knew. It was how I landed the spot as Makoto in the movie. I wanted to make his story known and represent my dear daddy on the big screen." Kaito flipped his hair off his shoulder.

"N-No it's okay. I guess I should have figured out on my own." Himura swallowed hard, running his fingers through his hair as he went to go through the papers on his desk as he tried to avoid his own parental negligence. "L-Let's get back to the investigation."

Kaito chuckled as Himura started to flip through the pages on the desk. Luckily the information was enough to pull him away from his embarrassing ignorance. The files on the top were quite eye catching, most of them seemed like important notes written by the headmaster. The first was a plan for a new school, the whole thing was packed with tons of different classrooms and special areas to help students of every talent increase their abilities and advance further through their elements. Something about these plans made Himura feel… excited. They even had dorms built into the first floor along with the notes written, explaining how dorms would be a good place to provide living spaces to students orphaned by the tragedy. Himura let off a small smile as he continued to flip through the pages.

Underneath that page was an interesting page that seemed like a letter. Himura quickly read it over, but not too much really seemed to stick to him. The quick outline of the page was that the first grade of students were going very well. The class of nine female students and seven male students are all getting along greatly in the school. Something felt off about that first part but… Himura couldn't really put his finger on it so he decided to move on. Then it slowly started to read the last half of the message. Nothing really seemed to catch his eyes, however. Just the fact that the success of the first class opened up the idea to allow more students into the school.

The last was a weird note on… cardstock? It also had the handwriting of the headmaster scrawled over it in pen. _It has come to my attention that the group wishes to join the school. At first, I was skeptical of their goals but at this point it seems that their goals may line up with ours… however some of the things their leader has told me concerns me… Do you really think they're right, Komaeda?"_

"Find anything useful baby?" Himura could feel Kaito's hot breath pour over his shoulder and onto his neck as the actor leaned over his shoulder. "Aw, this all looks s g. How about we move on?"

Himura was freed from the other man's grip as the actor took a step back, his heels clicking quietly on the ground as he brushed himself off. Himura followed his league as he took a step away from the desk. "I think I've found everything here as well."

"Then let's move on…" Luna spoke as he eyes slowly moved off the cardstock on the desk to the door. "We still have two more rooms to explore… So let's not take too much longer than we need too, okay?"

"Sounds good to me!" Souda headed towards the door, already set on leaving the room. "Than let's get going!"

Everyone was already towards the door when a sound cut across the room, a weak sob that seemed to sound through the hollow room.

"W-Wait, I can't do this. I-I have to know… Himura, why did Akumu try to kill you?" Niijima's sob like voice echoed through the room, targetting the barista until he couldn't move any more. "I have to know! I need to know why she died!"

This was the loudest Himura had ever heard the DJ's voice get but even now it sounded fragile. The yelling seemed to create cracks in her gentle voice. Himura watched as her flesh hand covered her mouth as she started to sob, large droplets of tears poured down her face.

"Please! I have to know! The Akumu Kusonoki I knew could _NEVER_ kill someone! Sh-She was gentle and kind. She just wanted to give the dead a voice. I need to know because I-I can't sleep on this… I miss her and I need to know why I'm never going to see her again!"

Himura swallowed but he knew this question was going to come up. He had been waiting for this question to arise since he announced it at the trial. "I'll tell you."

"It all started when Naegi-San asked me to test out the security of the master mind. I was alone at night and I was an easy target. She came at me fast and knocked my down on my back. She took a strike at me with her knife but it hit the floor… at first I thought she was just bad at aiming but the truth was… She couldn't do it. She dropped the knife down on the floor and started crying. The first thing I did was turn off the communicator before going to see what was wrong…

I went to comfort her. Sat next to her and tried to figure out what had went wrong. Why did she feel the need to kill me… what secret did she have to hide. For a moment, I saw it in her eyes, the despair that flowed inside of her like a turret as she had an internal battle against this- this thing that weighed heavy on her chest… that was when she told me her secret… that Akumu Kusonoki didn't believe in ghost."

"Wh-What? Th-That can't be it… That… doesn't make sense…" Niijima argued, her fist clenching tight onto the front of her crop top.

"It does when you remember that's why she was accepted into the school in the first place. Akumu Kusonoki was the Super High School Level Paranormal Investigator. During the tragedy the only thing that kept her sane was the idea that she could communicate with ghosts. The idea that she could give a final voice to the spirits trapped on this plane by some horrible event during The Tragedy. While Kusonoki was alone she was comforted in the idea of being an vassal for these lost voices."

"What changed?" Himura was almost surprised by the deep voice of Tanaka from the back of the room. It seemed that Niijima wasn't the only person this was weighing on.

"When The Tragedy ended, Kusonoki was granted her own television show. She became a star and a lot of people looked up to her. When her tv show started she realized she was getting even more results than normal. Soon… she found out the people around her were faking her results for the show… Kusonoki had never felt despair like this before… the overwhelming sensation that the only thing that had ever given her hope was fake… She felt used. People used her to become famous. They took advantage of her in order to look famous. Her trust was broken, however, and she couldn't regain her faith in the supernatural. Her trust had been crushed. Her title, her entire life had become a lie and a show. She kept making her show, hamming up her reaction of the results for the audience.. Faking her joy."

"That's a dumb reason to kill." Kazuichi grumbled, pulling his hat over his face as he gave his unwanted remark.

"You're right," Himura sighed, rubbing his arm through his sweater as he reminisced on the memory. "It's why, in the end, she couldn't kill me."

"When my divine eyes laid upon the cold corpse of this mortal… I knew what her secret was… Through demonic means I was able to remember a day lost to the past, veiled in darkness. She had come to me for reassurance… And I did everything I could to reignite her belief in the Supernatural!"

" _Tanaka-San… do you have a moment?"_

"Looking back, I still do not feel as if I gave her an adequate reason to trust me…"

" _Akumu Kusonoki, the student who talks with the dead. We were just about to allow my Dark Devas to feast. We shall be here for awhile."_

" _Oh, Good, the spirits told me that…" Kusonoki paused, her tired eyes read something entirely different for a moment. She took a deep breath before hugging herself. Breaking her showmanship halfway through and just letting her hand drop from her face._

" _I sense a dark presence weighing down on you, Kusonoki. What ails you?" Gundam's eyes searched the child for an opening, trying to pick out something specific he might be able to catch._

" _How… How do you believe…_ _ **How can you believe in all this stuff! How do you keep it up?**_ _I-I can't trust it anymore, I can't tell what my mind is making up to make me feel better… But you believe in it all so much… how…?"_

" _I do not understand."_

" _I know people give you crap for believing in supernatural beings, Tanaka-san… I've heard the other teachers tease you about it… Even with what you believe the evidence for it is even less…"_

" _Young Kusonoki," Tanaka started, dropping a handful of seeds onto the desk and watching as his swarm of hamsters quickly crowded the area, "Why do you doubt the spirits?"_

" _I...Everyone makes fun of me for believing in them… they say I'm eccentric and I'm just faking it. Even when I had my tv show, everyone sent me angry messages on how all my findings were fake and that I-I was just hammy… It only got worse when I found out the producer of my show_ was _faking a lot of my results… I trusted him and he used me to make money… Ever since then I've always doubted their existence… what if it's just another person trying to take advantage of me?" Kusonoki sniffled, rubbing her eyes as she tried to hold back tears. "During the Tragedy, after my mom and dad died, the belief that they were watching over me as ghosts always made me feel a lot better… But now- I- I don't know what to believe!"_

" _Kusonoki, do not let the words and doings of mortals weigh down on you so. The spirits chose you. They could see the demonic blood in your veins and knew a dark soul like yours could lead them to the light. I see them as well, following you. Even my Dark Devas of Destruction can see it in you, the blood of a demon! Do not let pathetic mortals twist you into their own beliefs, never let them tell you who you are." Tanaka let out a deep, evil sounding laugh. "And if another pathetic being of this world ever plays with you like that again, they'll have my immortal, dark army to deal with! Because you are like me, we are not of this world. Your spirits help seal the holes in your heart just as my army does for me… You are much stronger than you believe."_

 _Kusonoki paused, and at first, it was uncertain if these words had really sunk in. The tears she were holding in suddenly broke free, pouring down her face in a thick stream as the dam holding them back had finally broken down. Tanaka didn't have any time to respond as the child leapt forward, hugging him tight around the waist and sobbing into his shirt._

 _The last part of the memory was him reluctantly patting her on the top of her head, one last form of comfort as the girl continued to sob._

The teacher finished the recollection of his memory with a pain sigh. Still, he was holding in a lot of obvious pain… trying to cover it up by the demonic exterior he forced out every single day.

"Th-This is so unfair… She didn't deserve to die. Neither did Sugai." Niijima clenched her fists and her mechanical arm made a loud whirring sound as she kept going. "Eguchi deserved what she got! She killed two of our friends to keep some dirty secret! She must have really crawled herself out of one of those reformation centers if a stupid secret is enough to set her off!"

"That's enough!" Himura was surprised when the seamstress spoke up, the girls long braid bouncing as she decided to speak up. "Don't you dare act like this isn't exactly _why_ she did it. I've seen what those Reformation Centers do to people. They trap them inside and hope that they can overcome the darkness of their own hearts. It works, for the most part, a lot of people recover. But a lot of innocent children get trapped inside! Not a lot of people know that! When their parents are filled with despair a lot of children don't want to leave their sides. People thought that the children would help their families recover but...Even if someone leaves that place, they're treated like they have some kind of infection. Treated as if they could snap at any moment. If you're blaming Eguchi alone for this than you're an idiot!"

Niijima took a step back, steam flooding from her arm as she started to sob. "Th-Then who is at fault? N-No one forced her to stab our friends!"

"The Mastermind" Kaito spoke, his usually rhythmic voice was stuck on a much lower key than usual. "Our enemy is the Mastermind."

"No, we're still being too shallow about this," Luna argued, making the actor look a little surprised by her continued retaliation. "Our enemy is despair. Don't ever forget that."

"How can despair be our enemy?" Souda questioned, moving around his distressed co worker to get a better look at the students. "Junko Enoshima, Ultimate Despair is dead… All that's left is the aftermath of what she did."

Luna paused, looking over everyone before sighing. She looked distressed, as if she was trying to figure out how to explain something… heavy. It reminded Himura of all the times his foster parents told him they couldn't handle him anymore… "God, I wish Hotta was here, she would know what to do."

"Hotta?" Niijima asked, looking mildly confused, "Yeijiro Hotta? Th-The Lucky Student? How could she be helpful right now?"

Luna sighed, rubbing her arm before looking back over the rest of the group. "I guess I've said too much to turn back but… Hotta wasn't just the Lucky Student… she was also the leader of an Anti Despair group. Vigilantes if you must... "

"And how do you know this?" Kaito asked, crossing his arms as the Actor seemed fairly unsure, "I thought no one knew each other coming into this school…?"

"I know this because I was one of them… The Battle Against Despair Girls is what she called it… or just BAD Girls for short… Before we came to this school she told us to pretend like we didn't know each other. She said it would make us all look less suspicious." Luna put her finger tips gently against her bottom lip. "We talked with Naegi-San about being able to run our operations inside the school.

When the world got better, we noticed a sudden, strange spike of despair in the area. More people slowly becoming infected with it slowly started to pop up on our radars. Recovery Centers have a dangerous belief that anyone can be saved from despair. We have a different line of thinking… Some people can't be saved and those people need to be stopped in order to keep despair from spreading."

"B-But…" Himura mumbled out, he had never heard of such a group before. "Why come to the school?"

"Because we believed that a _**new Ultimate Despair**_ had been born." Luna confessed.

"WHAT?!" Souda was practically choking on the words as he had his usual little freak out. "How could there be another Despair? That's ridiculous!"

"Who cares, if there was another Despair, Naegi-San would be able to handle it." Kaito didn't seem very sure of this story. "So what's the point of trying to find them if we have the Ultimate Hope on our side?"

"That's right," Niijima said, her gently voice back, while still shaky. "Everyone knows Makoto Naegi is the Ultimate Hope."

"Hotta believed that with a new kind of Despair… that a _**new Ultimate Hope**_ was born to counter it as well. Hotta believed that Naegi wouldn't be able to handle this despair… that Naegi-san's time as the Ultimate Hope was over."

"That's bullshit!" Souda growled, clenching his fists as he spoke. "You're just pulling this out of your ass! Th-There's no way any of this is possible!"

"Why not? There's a new Ultimate Botanist? Isn't it possible that someone else can take over after someone dies? Or loses the talent they had in the beginning?" Luna questioned.

Himura knew she was right, as much as they didn't want to believe it, it was easily possible that a new source of despair was created in the world. Some good versus evil bullshit. As they had always said, Despair would never truly go away. "You still haven't explained why you were in the school?"

"Oh, that's simple, Hotta figured that a new Despair would be attracted to the school. That they would show up to try and take it down. Eun Rhee believed the new Hope would be drawn to the school as well." Luna explained.

"Eun Rhee… that's the girl at the cafe." Himura mumbled, taken a bit off guard.

"Yeah, when I saw her name in the case file, I knew you were innocent… She was one of us. I remember Uso Tsuki being one of our targets… We classified him as a leech. He enjoyed sucking the hope out of people around him until they had none left. We had to stop him before he caused more problems." Luna flipped her hair, the explanations obviously going on longer than she had expected.

"Told you you didn't kill anyone," Kaito bragged, though Himura wasn't sure if now was a good time for that. "But you said _us,_ is there anyone else in our class that was in your group?"

"No, Just me and Hotta. But I know Eun Rhee was about to be accepted into the school as the Ultimate Skater if the school did well."

"I remember reading a note like that…" Himura sighed before looking back at the desk. "About a second class being accepted if the school did well…"

"That's right. In that class was Eun Rhee the Ultimate Skater and Yoko Takahashi the Ultimate Roller Derby Girl." Luna explained, giving them more students to think about. "Though I have no idea if they ever went through with the idea of a second class."

"Well, that was a huge info dump." Kaito complained, rubbing his forehead as he looked around. "Next time you should trim your script a bit more and only keep the juicy parts."

"That is a lot of information to process," Himura sighed, rubbing his neck as he slowly looked around. "But from what I can tell, our best option might be to keep exploring this floor. We have to finish some time today and I feel like we've been doing this for hours."

Luna nodded and seemed to cheer up a bit. "You're right, let's keep going. We still have two rooms to cover."

The group headed out but Himura's mind felt as if it was floating around in space. There was so much new information for the group to process. New leads and ideas that seemed to lead nowhere. The idea that a new despair could exist was alarming but… who else could do something as horrible as this? They honestly should have seen this coming a long time ago. Maybe they were just to blind to realize it?

Moving on, they found a room labeled Rest Area. When they tried to open the door, it was locked. No matter how hard they tried, it wouldn't budge.

"Really, they leave the Headmaster's room wide open but a break room is off limits?" Souda grumbled to himself, scratching his head as he looked it over. "This mastermind doesn't make any fucking sense."

Moving on, they found themselves in front of the last room in the area. The door read Library. Taking a deep breath, Tanaka was the one to push the door open this time. The inside was a fairly open area, filled with rows of books stacked up ontop of eachother as far as the eye could see. Rows of tables sat through the center of the bookshelves, with one last surprise sitting ontop of one of the smooth, marble tables.

"It's about time you fuckers got here." Sweeny looked up from one of the books in his lab. "Took your sweet ass time, didn't you?"

"So, this is where you chose to explore?" Tanaka remarked, walking closer to his student with an interested look, "Did my minion find anything of importance."

"Uh, No sir." Sweeney seemed to be a lot nicer to Gundam, strange how he was much more aggressive with everyone else. "This Library is just filled with books written by Ultimate Students. Hell, there's books from some of us in here."

"Really?" Kaito asked, skipping across the room to glide his finger over some of the books. "How amazing. These books are so well kept. Some of them are from before the tragedy."

Himura walked closer to Sweeney to glance over the pile of books he'd gathered on his desk. Eyeing them carefully to see what may have caught his attention. There was _The Thrill of Creating Monsters_ by Saya Eguchi, _Creating the Perfect Toy_ by Koi Yunokawa, _What's a good Tattoo_ By Sweeney and _Love of Coffee_ by… Kazuki Himura…

"What has you at this moment, Minion?" Tanaka asked, leaning over the artist's shoulder to peek into the book.

"Just some really fucked up shit I found by the Ultimate Child Psychologist. " Sweeney responded and Himura took this time to look at the burnt pages of the book. Whatever happened to this book it was almost completely destroyed. Even the author's last name was burnt off the book, leaving only their first name; _Gasai_. "Take a look."

Himura looked over the few pages left of the book and just looking over the words made his stomach… churn. The book detailed how Gasai had figured out how to manipulate children's minds. That it was simple to shape children from the day they were born to make their memory unreliable. "From years of gaslighting and manipulation I have learned that children's minds are weak. Soon their memories can be changed by simple words and pictures. Falsifying memories within their feeble minds becomes easily accomplished with a fake photograph or words from someone they trust. While my research is… controversial, I know it can be used to shape a more obedient youth. Children who have been put under these experimentations are under a more solid control and cannot leave their family behind. They will believe even the most cruel parents and family are just. Sure, it's highly manipulative and it's ethical purposes are… questionable. But the experiment was a success and in the end, I got what I wanted. Someone who would never leave my side."

"What the hell?" Himura mumbled after reading some of it out loud. He closed the book, almost as if he could feel the darkness rolling off of it in waves. "What kind of monster would write something like this?"

Sweeney took the book back, tossing it onto the table and causing ashes to fly up from the book. Almost like a deadly smoke rising from the cursed object. "Some super fucked up bitch, that's for sure. It takes about how horribly abusive she was to the child and how by telling him something else happened, he'd believe her over his own memories. Plus shit like he'd actually forget really big events in his life because she _told him to._ It's absolutely disgusting. I hate how parents feel like the _own_ children."

Himura nodded, his hands shaking a little as he recalled his own mother… he couldn't think about it for long, so he quickly turned to see what Kaito was looking at.

"There's at least one book for every student here…" Kaito mumbled, looking over at the barista as he walked up to him. "it's so strange, seems like we were told to write them as a school assignment because some of them are badly written. Look at Iris's, its so cute, a little flower on every side. Oh, and Kusonoki drew a little ghost on her book."

Himura looked over the mass amounts of books… honestly there were too many to even count. Looking up, it seemed like the ceiling was gone. The books shelves seemed to go up just as high. There was no ladder that could get anyone to the top.

"Plus there's just normal books. Mystery novels, romance books, thrillers. Anything a bored student could ever want." Kaito chuckled and pointed to a pretty boring looking book. "There's even one about being a stunt double. Ha! How boring. I couldn't imagine walking around in someone's shadow like that."

Himura glanced at it but… nothing really caught his attention. The book just… blended in with the others. It fell into the background, like a shadow. Unseen around all of the colorful books with bold fonts. Himura lost interest in it quickly, looking back towards whatever Kaito was doing.

After a few minutes of scanning the room, Himura let out a long, drawn out yawn. Seemed like the activities of the day were slowly catching up with him. Weighing him down as he needed another cup of coffee.

"Want me to walk you back to your room, darlin?" Kaito responded to the yawn faster than Himura, gently laying a hand on his back in order to lead him back downstairs. "You look like you've had enough for today."

Himura chuckled, rubbing his eyes as the actor led him down the stairs. "You got me in a box." Himura joked, waving to everyone as the actor lead him down the stairs.

Once they were away from everyone else, Himura heard the Actor let out a long, drawn out sigh. "Are you sure you're okay? Yesterday was… a lot for you to handle. It had to be exhausting."

"Yeah… I feel even more drained than before… Every day I feel like I'm slowly getting worse. Like I have less energy to be awake in the day… It's exhausting." Himura rubbed his eyes. He never was really this open with his constant feelings of… exhaustion. But he felt as if he could trust Kaito… even if it was only for a little bit. "I can handle it though. I'm used to this, these aggressive mood swings. I can handle it… I do… have a more important question for you, though."

"What is it, baby." Kaito asked, his soft, red hair bobbing with him as they walked. At this point they were almost back to their rooms.

"Wh… well what are we?" Himura finally forced out, a little nervous as they reached Himura's door. "Like are we just really good friends, boyfriends or… um?"

"Himura… I would love to be your boyfriend…" Kaito started gently, but Himura could hear that there was more too it. "But I feel like… We should wait until we get out of this place."

"Well, what if we never do? What if we're trapped in here forever and this is the only chance we get?" Himura hurried, for some reason, he felt as if he was panicking, like if he didn't win this discussion, Kaito would be gone.

"More of a reason to wait." Kaito sighed, he started to rub his hands together, digging his thumbs into the palms of his hands as he spoke. "If one of us died before we got to leave… the effects would be devastating. I don't want us to hurt eachother like this. But… when we get out of here, if you're still interested in a beautiful fool like me, I'd gladly be your boyfriend."

Himura sighed, knowing the actor was right. Dating in a place like this was… a bad idea. It could hurt both of them. It really would be better this way. "I'll see you tomorrow.." Himura sighed as he said goodnight to the actor. Maybe he was thinking too hard about this… maybe he was rushing it… for a moment, he felt sad, more exhausted than before. But after a moment to absorb all the information he felt… relieved. Kaito's answer hadn't been a no. It was just a suggestion that they should wait.

…it was more inspiration to leave this place… besides not dying, of course.

Flopping down in the bed, he cuddled into his bed, letting the sleep take him over as he was finally letting sleep was over him. At least his dreams wouldn't be filled with lost memories tonight… Tonight, he could actually get the sleep he needed. With a long, drawn out sigh he let himself sink into the darkness, finally obtaining the sleep he needed.

* * *

Monokuma waddled onto the stage. Just like the other times. Nothing new was on the stage, however… No additional props, no new toys… just a dead silence that fell over the stage. All except the hollow sound of the bear's footsteps. He reached the center of the stage and stared out at the audience.

"Welcome to another Monokuma Theater!"

When his voice sounded out over the stage, there was something… wrong with it, almost as if the voice box in the machine was broken. Certain syllables spiking in pitch. Everything about the scene was… distorted.

" Well, It looks like IM Staying up late tOnight. Didn't you love those days when alaRms and eaRly risings were a thing of the past. Those summer daYs WHere you could just enjoy the compAny of friends? Don'T you just miss those days? SChool Always messes up the time you Can spend with All of your frieNds. Sometimes It bothers you late at night as it eats away at your unconscious minD and wOnder if They actually care abOut you the way you hope they do. Laying in bed late at night as you Face the facts of your Inevitable demise. Is there anyway to fiX THe decISons You've made in this shitty life you live? Puhuhuhuhuhu!"

The bear paused, almost as if he was waiting for some kind of response. Far out of the view was the sound of… something hitting the floor. Like a stuffed toy.

"But what's really the poInt? People don't sticK arouNd for long. Life Ends, Worlds collapse, hope fades. Your frIendS will abandon you. Your figHt against this is pOintless. Why do yoU even Let yourselves believe in the limiteD chaNce of TriumpH. WhAt good could eVEr come from such wasted effort other than Loss and a waISTE of efforts aNd thEre are better ways to spenD The last days Of your life. SHouldn't It be spent MakIng yourself happy, Instead MoronS like yOu keep trying Scrape at the bOttom of the baRRel to trY and Dig your Asses out of Dead ends. It's always so much fun to watch you idiots scramble and waste your lives on such meager things."

With that, the bear bowed, moving off the stage as he finished his speech. The weird little bear trotting off the stage faster than he had area slowly was swallowed by darkness, as if black waters filled the area, keeping everything on the stage out of view. Like a horrible vortex swallowing everything in the room.


	16. Even A Party Game Can Be Dangerous

" _Koba… did you fall asleep again?"_

 _Koba felt disoriented as he lifted his head off the desk. The room felt light as if an afternoon sun was blaring directly through the windows and they had blasted the lights all the way up. Koba went to wipe the drool away from the corner of his mouth but it still seemed to feel a little damp, even after he ran the back of his hand over the spot._

 _Koba took a moment to take in his surroundings. He felt wobbly as he swayed in his desk, looking around at his fellow students who quietly sat at their desks. Most of their faces felt blurred, as if Koba was looking at them from a distance. The only face that didn't look far away was the girl sitting in the desk next to him. Her long, black hair was perfectly combed into angular shapes. Her almond eyes stared forward as they barely peeked out underneath her straight edge of bangs._

" _You're not in my class…" Koba said gently as he looked at her. He felt his voice come out like a whisper, as if he was trying to keep himself from being heard._

 _The girl blew a large, saturated pink bubble from her mouth. The gum popping loudly before she gently pulled it back into her mouth. He recognized her, yet at the same time, she was extremely new. Her eyes slowly moved inside her head as her eyes slowly targeted Koba._

" _You're sleeping in class again. Maybe you should pay attention to the lesson this time… maybe there's something important for you to learn this time around." The girl slowly spoke, the the volume showed no intent to hiding what she had to say. "Besides if you don't pay enough attention, you'll be in trouble."_

" _You're going to get in trouble for breaking into my class." Koba said again before turning back to the board in the front of the class. Chalk had been scrawled across the board as Komaeda wrote something on it in the flawless material. The world seemed to float around Koba, as if everything was sinking deep into the ocean and taking a ride on a lite cloud. His head felt as if it was spinning as he tried to comprehend the words that the teacher continued to write on the board._ _希望_ _._ _希望_ _._ _希望_ _._

 _Koba knew what it said clearly, yet at the same time… he was having a hard time comprehending it. Almost as if something was keeping him from understanding exactly what it was trying to say. Koba looked back at the girl, taking his eyes away from Komaeda to look back at the strange figure._

" _Who are you?"_

" _Fumio, of course you don't remember." She sighed, crossing her arms in her chair as she looked at him. "I have an important question for you."_

" _..."_

" _Do people always deserve to be forgiven?"_

 _The question caused his gut to stir, as if it was something he'd heard several times in his life. As if he was trained to respond to it. Though his brain was spinning, he barely had to concentrate on it before answering._

" _Yes." He answered, just as he saw long, curly hair lying in the door entryway. It was an ominous vision and made his hair stand on end. Was… was_ _ **She**_ _listening? "But sometimes people do things that they should never be forgiven for."_

 _There was the faintest trace of a smile before she closed her eyes. She paused as Koba felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. He grasped the pained area with a startled cry as blood swelled out from between his fingers. He watched in horror as it drained out onto the floor, slowly filling the entire room. He looked over at her one more time, only to see a small indent on her chest, blood pouring out of her chest as her eyes rolled back._

 _...she wasn't breathing anymore._

Koba felt the pain in his shoulder as he finally woke up. It wasn't as intense as in his dream, but he wondered if it was from sleeping on it. He moved his shirt to take a look, only to find a strange indent in his arm… like some kind of scarred over wound. But it was still pink. Whatever had caused it wasn't new. Weirdly enough, he felt well rested, even though the nightmare weighed down on him.

He rolled around as his mind tried to swallow hole the terrifying dream. There was no point in holding onto the nonsense that plagued most of his nightmares. He tried to remember the kanjis his teacher had written on the board but… even those had left his mind. Now just a senseless blur he had no chance of understanding. Instead, he tried to move onto one of his real life problems.

Koba rolled around in bed, no matter what he did, he couldn't get comfortable. His chest felt heavy and his mind clouded as he tried to figure out some kind of answers. He thought that Eguchi's words would fade on his conscious as he gave it more time but the longer he waited the heavier the thoughts got. It was weighing heavy on him at this point. What had she meant? Koba barely knew anything about Recovery Centers. Why had she asked him out of everyone in the room?

Rubbing his eyes, everything weighed heavy on his chest. His breathing felt as if a weight was pressing down on his lungs, crushing them inside of his chest. It took longer than he'd expected but… he was feeling the after effects of assistance in the case… watching Eguchi die really made him reflect on the idea that more of his friends could die. That someone he trusted could… murder someone. Hiding a secret felt like such a weak reason to kill someone.

Well, he didn't understand her motivations. She seemed afraid of what they'd say to her… Almost as if the reveal of her secret would change how they all saw her. Taking a deep breath, Koba tried to think back to the trial, but it felt as if the memories were drowned in a thick, syrup like blood. Shaking them free of the clingy liquid helped but the image had been permanently damaged. How could he forget bits already, it was like his brain was trying to remove the events from his mind.

Koba heard a knock at his door. Finally pulling himself out of his bed. His knees almost gave out underneath him for a moment. He stumbled towards the door, feeling as if he'd been asleep for a lifetime. Rubbing his eyes, he quickly tugged on his shorts and jacket before heading to the door.

Slowly he pulled it open, peaking outside before rubbing his eyes. However, he was only more confused as he saw Sweeney at his door. The scientist let out a long, drawn out sigh. It felt too early in the morning to be dealing with his attitude.

"So, you've finally decided to wake up?" Sweeney teased as he crossed his arms.

"What do you want? I jus woke up… And it's not even that late yet." Koba groaned as he waited for an unnecessary amount of insults to follow.

"It's not late? Yeah, it's only 8, but you slept all day yesterday. We didn't even see you." Sweeney shot back, obviously quicker than the artist had expected. "Iris said she came by yesterday to check on you and all you said was that you don't feel good."

"Whatever." Koba mumbled as he rubbed he put his hat on his hair, controlling the fluffy mess of hair. How could he sleep for more than 24 hours? That sounded extremely fake to him. Where did this guy get off making Koba feel like an idiot. "Like I asked be 4. What do ya want?"

"..." Sweeney looked irritated for a moment, as if he was frustrated with the slang that Koba was throwing down. But he paused before taking a long, drawn out breath. "Don't make this hard for me, okay? I came to apologize for being an asshole to you."

"Is… this some kinda joke," Koba was skeptical. This kid's rode his butt since they got here. Trying to find ways of making Koba look like some kinda fool.

"No you idi- Listen, I always thought you were some kind of over gloating fake. You don't act like some kind of amazing scientist, let alone someone whose cured cancers. Then, even though you seemed so stupid… yet everyone _liked_ you. It was so… strange to hear everyone talk about how funny they thought you were. How they _trusted_ you do easily. It made me so **angry**! All my life I had to work so hard to get the kind of respect you get in seconds! Do you know how long it took to get people to let me tattoo them back in Ireland? To get them to take me _seriously?_ Than I had to move here and suddenly everyone thinks I'm some kind of _freak!_ **Everyone** and I mean everyone here thinks I'm some delinquent for tattooing people. That it's some waste of my skills. I have to put on these **fucking** long sleeved shirts just so people _talk_ to me. I have to work so hard to get people to respect me but… but then there's you."

Koba watched, the small tattoo artist was fuming but… Koba had no idea. He figured Sweeney was just like everyone else, that he enjoyed taking advantage of his naïve nature and his constant stupidity. The fact that he lacked critical thinking unless he really _worked_ for it. But watching as the other student continue to trust him with… all of this, Koba couldn't help but feel like he should trust him.

"Everyone trusted you right away. I always heard Sugai talk about how you were the nicest person- Sato's always talking about how she trusts you more than anyone else- Hell, even Bellerose insists she _knows_ that you can't commit murder and Bellerose doesn't trust any of the fuckers here! Hell, she thought **Himura** was a killer for sure. She thinks Iris could kill someone before you could. But you didn't do anything to gain their trust… you were just this… this doofy guy they all believed in… I was just…"

"Yo, don't worry, ya don't gotta say it." Koba reached forward, patting the other student on the shoulder before flashing a gentle smile. "I understand. I was jealous about how cool your talent was! 'Specially when we all went to the beach. They look so cool. I always figured you didn't like me because you were above me!"

"Nah… I was jealous… Jealous, angry and confused and I needed someone to take it out on…" Koba growled as he rubbed his left arm. "Plus I was angry that there were so many names I didn't know tattooed onto my arm…"

"W-Wait what?" Koba asked, slowly trying to remember the tattoos the skater had seen on Sweeney during their trip to the beach. But even that was just a fuzzy mess of colors at this point. "There's names on your tattoo?"

"Yeah! And I'd never do something as stupid as that unless they really meant something to me! Names are a horrible idea for tattoos… so why'd I do it?" Sweeney ran his fingers through his hair, obviously stressed by this fact.

"Can I… See?"

"Uh… Yeah, sure." Sweeney grumbled, slowly unbuttoning his shirt enough to pull out his left arm.

Seeing it again caught Koba off guard for a moment. It was absolutely beautiful. The colors were saturated and called for attention. The palette itself was carefully hand picked and everything seemed to work so well together. It had a very stylized look to it, but yet detail was poured into every piece of it. It was truly a work of art. An hour glass rested up near his forearm. The glass had shattered open and sand was pouring out, wrapping around a torn, beaten heart that laid in wait near the back of Sweeney's wrist. At first, Koba couldn't see the names. They were hidden in the shading of the sand, specially crafted to look like dots of the sand, making it almost unnoticeable from a distance. But they were there, and it was more than just Koba's name that was hidden in the grain. He also saw Sugai's, Kusonoki's, Himura's, and even Tanaka's names beautifully hidden inside of the sand.

"See? Why would I do that?" Sweeney grumbled as he tugged his arm back into his sleeve, looking more irritated by the second.

"Dunno… But it looks really cool." Koba said, a smile crossing his lips as he scratched the back of his head from underneath his hat.

"Of course it looks cool, I did it." Sweeney mumbled as he rubbed his neck. "Anyways… Guess you'll probably want to eat."

"No kidding! I feel as if I haven't eaten in ages!" Koba laughed happily, going to leave before Himura met them at the door.

"Good to see you haven't died yet from all that caffeine you ingest." Sweeney joked.

"I wish." Himura started, but he looked fairly distracted. "I have an important question for you guys, if you have a minute."

"Sure big guy." Sweeney offered. Koba couldn't help but notice the distraught look on his face. Did… Something happen?

"Did you guys know Naegi is Kaito's dad?" Himura spat out in a rush, looking even more confused as he spoke. "It's been bothering me all night. It just... it doesn't make any sense!"

"How could you not know that?" Sweeney questioned as he crossed his arms and looked a bit annoyed at how much Himura was freaking out. "It was big news a few years ago. Especially when Kaito funded to show off how _cool_ the Ultimate Hope was took off."

"But it doesn't make any sense! They don't look anything alike! A-and why do they have different names? Plus Kaito would have had to have been born while they were locked in the school! So-" Himura panicked as he spoke. The information seemed to puzzle him beyond belief.

"Dude are you serious?" Sweeney rolled his eyes and looked at Koba. "You know _why,_ right?"

"... Am I supposed to know?" Koba questioned, though his brain ran up empty on ideas.

"Are you two kidding me? Do neither of you watch the news? Uhhg! Whatever, I'll see you two at breakfast. I can't handle this anymore." Sweeney headed towards the dining hall, tossing one last comment over his shoulder. "If it's bothering you so bad, why don't you just ask Naegi?"

"Koba… would you come with me to talk to Naegi?" Himura asked gently. Rubbing his neck as he looked over at the skater.

"Sure, but first, I need to fill this tum!" Koba headed off towards the kitchen, Himura following close behind as they headed to the kitchen.

Everyone was already gathered for breakfast when an announcement sounded over their heads. The tv flashing with the cursed bear's head.

" _Greetings everyone! It's so good to see everyone hanging out and being the best of friends! Puhuhuhu! So how about after you all get a nice, big breakfast you all meet me in the gym? See you then!"_

And than the screen snapped off. Everyone around him suddenly looked ill after that new announcement. Everyone looking over their food with uncomfortable faces. Koba felt the announcement was different than usual. It was weird that the bear was letting them finish breakfast first. Koba didn't care though, he grabbed some food and took a seat.

He needed food before he dealt with whatever that stupid bear needed. And it seemed like everyone else in the room had the same idea.

* * *

The teachers reached the room long before the students. Komaeda was told not to come… But he wasn't about to follow through with that idea. Monokuma had called _everyone_ to the gym so the last thing he wanted to do was irritate the mastermind.

So Nagito waited for everyone else to leave the room before he even attempted to wander down to the gym. Even if Hajime told him to stay in bed, he had to join the others for the meeting. His head felt lighter than normal, nauseous as he stood to his feet. Weaker than normal as he stumbled around his room. He never thought this would do so much damage to him.

He rubbed his head for a moment, feeling his cold, clammy skin on his finger tips. He took a deep breath, though it seemed to fall into shallow, burning lungs. Maybe this time he really was dying.

Komaeda coughed, rubbing his throat as he shoved his hand into one of his hidden pockets. He tugged out the photo he had found on his desk in the teacher's room. A family photo. His family photo.

It had been so long since he had a family, let alone one he could take a picture with. Yet here, cradled carefully in his hands was his new family… He remembered taking this photo not too long ago. His beautiful three person family. Another ragged breath escaped him, causing him to tremble as he clenched up. They gave him a reason to keep going. He couldn't leave Hajime and her alone… not yet.

For a moment, he couldn't help but wonder if he was stuck here because of how nice his life had been recently. Finally it seemed the lack of bad luck was finally catching up to him. His hands shook as he took one last look at the picture, swallowing hard as he felt his own eyes sting with the idea that it was all going to happen again. That Hajime's endless talents had finally let Komaeda's own _luck_ catch back up to him.

Before Komaeda could really comprehend what he was doing he found himself stumbling out of his room. Everyone was already gone. Already on their way to the gymnasium. He headed towards the stairs, looking down as he quietly wondered if he was able to make it down on his own. Pushing himself off the wall he took one final look before he almost fell down to first three steps.

Nagito was already out of breath as he leaned against the wall. Gasping as he tried to figure out how he was going to make it down the stairs. It took him a moment to regain his strength. He had to try hard not to just topple down the rest of the stairs. He paused as he felt something soft and plush touch his hand.

He whipped his head around quickly, his head moving so fast that his vision had a hard time keeping up. At first it looked like a pink and white blob that was hugging onto his hand. But slowly the stuffed animal came into focus. Once again his nauseous, cancer ridden brain had worked up Monomi to help him out.

"Y-You should be more careful!" Her voice sang out, her round paws gently tugging on Komaeda's hand. "Let me help you to the gym."

"I don't know how you're gonna help, you're just a weightless form of my imagination." Komaeda teased as the small rabbit walked him down the stairs. It did feel as if it was helping a little though.

"I'm really here… b-but you can't tell anyone! I'll get in trouble if they find out I'm helping you." She continued down the stairs. Gently helping him down the hall.

"I'm not worth helping. So why even bother. I'm a waste of your time because it's only moments before I finally die." Komaeda rambled on, though he suddenly heard a sniffle rise through the air he looked down to see Monomi was now crying.

"D-Don't say that kinda stuff! Y-you're gonna be fine because Koba is gonna make you better again!" Monomi was now hugging onto his arm as more tears rolled down her face. "Daddy said you're not allowed to talk like that anymore!"

"Daddy?" Komaeda questioned, though he was unsure why this stuffed toy built in his imagination would miss him. Usually his conscious only creating beings that loathed him.

"Oh no! I misspoke! I-I mean! Y-you're at the gym!" She swallowed hard, jumping away before she dug around in her fluff. "H-Here, I have more medicine for you. P-please take it!"

She handed him another small pill, just like she had given him in the bathroom. Komaeda took a long moment to look it over, rolling it around in his hand before looking up to see Monomi was already gone. He looked back towards his hand, surprised to see that the pill was still there. With a sigh, he shoved the weird, green little pill into his pocket. Taking a deep breath before waddling his way into the gym.

* * *

All the teachers, except Komaeda, were already gathered in the gym. Himura locked eyes with Makoto almost instantly. He brushed himself before jogging over. Everyone else was slowly gathering in the gym as he walked up to the teacher.

"Naegi-Sensei, I had an important question." Himura started, scratching his head in confusion. "Do you have a minute?"

"Of course, Himura, what do you need?" Naegi perked up slightly, almost as if the teacher was ready to answer something of significance for the student.

It was significant for Himura.

"Kaito said you're his dad, but you two don't look anything alike." Himura asked, the words boiling out in a rushed flurry. "Is it his mom he gets his looks from? Or are the short genes recessive? You two don't seem related it just doesn't make any sense."

"Is that it?" Naegi looked almost embarrassed, scratching the back of his head. "The answers simple, Kaito is adopted. Me and my classmen took him in after an incident in the Future Foundation. His mother was a Future Foundation member who lost it to despair. She was apart of a small branch and kept Kaito at their headquarters with her, long story short, after the Tragedy they found him and were about to send him to a Despair Reformation Center when we decided to take him in instead. He was about seven or eight when we got him?"

"Duh! I'm so stupid. That makes a lot more sense." Himura chuckled as he looked around to try and see where the Actor was now. "Of course he's adopted. There's no way that came from you, no offense Sensei."

"It's fine, I get that a lot. Kaito never mentions the fact he's adopted, which is good. He's a really good kid." Makoto paused, his smile fading slightly and he slowly looked nervous. "But he has been acting strange lately. He's never been so distant."

"Well… Maybe it's just the murder game getting to him?" Himura suggested, a weak attempt to try and comfort his teacher.

"Guess you're right… it would take a toll on anyone… I should know this is my fourth one…"

"Uh, one last question." Himura added as he suddenly remembered his discussion with Luna. "Did you know about the new despair?"

Makoto went to answer, his mouth opened when there was suddenly a loud thud. Himura turned fast enough to see the teacher fall. The white, stringy hair following his head down. There was a flash as two student dove to try and catch the falling teacher. However the only one who got there first was Kaito, scooping the teacher up before he smashed into the ground. He beat Luna by just a matter of seconds to save the teacher from smashing into the hard ground.

A moment didn't even get the chance to pass when Hajime jogged across the room, moving to check on the other man with a face twisted with worry and fear. The second he reached Nagito, however, Monokuma burst from the stage, tossing his hands up in the air with a malicious laugh.

"Finally! Everyone has arrived! Now we can commence our wonderful party!" Monokuma shouted, tossing his hands up with joy as he looked over everyone. "For a moment, I was afraid that we'd have to start without you Komaeda!"

"Nope…" Komaeda mumbled as he slowly got back to his feet. From where Himura was standing it looked like Komaeda was putting most of his weight on his partner. "I wouldn't miss the next motive."

"Motive? Puhuhuhuhuhu! You think I'm announcing the next motive? Don't be so daft! It's too early for a motive!" Monokuma danced around on stage. Tapping his little paws against the wood before finally clapping his hands. At the end of his little charade a large, gift box arose from the stage, standing almost seven feet tall. "I brought you all a present! Something to take your mind off of things until I come up with a great motive!"

"It's probably some kind of trap." Growled Souda from the back.

"No kidding, why would a freakish monster like you ever give us a present." Bellerose added as her arms crossed over her chest.

"Freakish! Your words hurt me, Bellerose! I'm only trying to give you all a break from this horrible game." Monokuma pretended to cry, fake tears welling up in his plastic eyes.

"Oh shut your ugly face and get on with it!" Luna piped up. "We don't want to be here longer than we have to."

"You won't get sympathy from us either... " Niijima gently spoke, rubbing her shoulder as she looked at the ground. She still seemed broken from the previous trial. "Not after you force us to kill our friends. I don't care about anything you have to say."

Monokuma looked even more hurt. Clenching his chest for a moment before letting out a long, drawn out sigh. "Anyways, let's move on to the best part! Opening the present! Who wants the honors?"

A moment passed. Silence fell over the entire group as they just stared. Everyone must have had the same thought. Inside was some kind of trap, waiting to harm whoever decided to be the unlucky bastard to tug open that box. It became more tense as time passed, the longer they waited, the worse someone was pressured to take a step forward.

"I'll do it." Himura finally spoke up, taking a few steps towards the stage.

"No, I'll do it." Kaito was near the stage before Himura could even react, a fast walk lead him to hop on the stage, taking a moment to look flattered as he looked out over the stage. "Besides, I was born to be on a stage. Can't let you outshine me there, baby."

"Ryuunosuke Kaito! Always the role stealer! I should have expected this from you!" Monokuma jumped before motioning towards the box. "Hop on over!"

Kaito strolled up to the box, swaying his hips as he walked. With a gently, carefully placed hand, he tugged the box open. The walls fell down in a wide swoop. Kaito jumped back quickly, a long leap that easily got him out of the path of the closest wall. They hit the ground of the stage with a soft thump. Black, white, and red Confetti shot up in the air, falling down to the ground like a soft snowfall. And left in the center of the box was a pile of bottles?

"...What is this?" Kaito looked confused as he looked over the box. Pausing before turning and looking over at Monokuma. "What kind of game are you playing?"

"No games! We're just having a good old party!" Monokuma bounced over, holding on of the bottles in the air and gently shaking it. "And what kind of party doesn't have alcohol?"

"You've got to be kidding!" Souda barked from the back of the room. "What makes you think any of us want to party."

"Well, it gives you all a chance to drink away your sorrows and pains." Monokuma offered.

"Fuck you! This is stupid!" Bellerose growled, her head swinging around to look at Sweeney. "Right? This is a huge trap!"

Sweeney paused, strangely quiet during this meeting. Pausing before he just shrugged. "I don't know, spending time with friends would be fun."

"What!" Bellerose scoffed, startled she'd lost her usual companion. "You can't be serious!"

"You don't have to decide right now," Monokuma offered, taking a step away from the opened present. "It'll be here aaaallll day."

"I don't think it'll be that bad…" Luna added, rubbing her neck for a moment as she thought it over. "Besides a chance to take our minds off of things would be nice."

"Y-you're kidding? Isn't illegal for all of you to drink in Japan anyways? Even if we aged a few years than we last remember. Aren't you all still underaged?" Bellerose inquired further, looking startled at everyone around her.

"It's illegal to drive in Japan before you're 18 and I've been doing it for years!" Sato added as she drove her thumb into her chest.

"Besides, nothing's more illegal than murder." Sweeney added.

"Also it's not really an enforced law." Himura added.

"Fine! Whatever you all decide. I'm going to go make food for this stupid party, if that's what you all want. Luna, you know how to set up a party, come with me and we'll set up a room" Bellerose surrendered, sounding defeated as she spun and exited the room.

Luna paused, looking around for a moment before shrugging. "Well, I guess I'll go lend her a hand. See you guys later."

With that, the Seamstress departed, the door slamming shut behind her.

A moment of silence followed before Niijima left the room as well, exiting just as quietly as she had entered. It was a bit concerning to see the girl exit so quietly. Sato and Iris left next, leaving together and emptying the room further. Sweeney glanced over, slowly walking over to his friends with a neutral look.

"So what do you plan on doing?" Sweeney asked, his eyes locking onto Koba before slowly drifting over the rest of them.

"Well, at this very moment, it seems that all we can do is wait for this party to start." Kaito responded first, looking over his nails before letting out a long, drawn out sigh.

"Yeah, until then, we can just chill I guess." Koba rubbed his neck.

"Not much else we can do…" Himura added, rubbing his neck as he looked around. "While we wait how about I make everyone a nice, warm cup of coffee?"

"Ooh! Sounds like fun! I'm a fan of caffeine!" Koba burst out.

"Oh, I bet you are, honey." Kaito joked, taking a slight step back. "I'll come along, but I don't really want any coffee. It'll stain my teeth."

"Oh…" Himura paused, looking a bit saddened by the idea. "But you _have_ to let me make a cup for you eventually, okay?"

Kaito paused, gently biting his bottom lip in thought. For a moment, his facial expression was longing. As if he was truly considering the idea. "Of course. I'd love a cup made by you some day."

Himura felt a small smile cross his lips. He perked up slightly, rubbing his neck before heading towards the door. "Then let's head over to my room. I have plenty of stuff to make Koba and Sweeney a nice cup of coffee."

"Well then let's go…" Sweeney said, glancing around before the group left the gymnasium. "Not like I have anything else to do."

The group departed, leaving the room behind. Himura took a long, deep breath before he gently reached over, scooping Kaito's hand in his and softly squeezing it. Kaito looked down for a moment. Hesitating before gently squeezing his hand back.

* * *

Komaeda watched as all the students left the room. He was still leaned up against Hajime. He took a moment, letting the warmth from the other person seep into his cold skin. He took a long, worn out deep breath, too dizzy to move for a moment.

"You were supposed to stay in your room, You could have gotten hurt. How did you make it down the stairs?" Hajime asked, a gently hand resting on Nagito's back before the white haired man finally pushed himself away.

"Don't worry so much. It's not worth your time. Besides, Monomi helped me down the stairs." Komaeda smirked for a moment as he walked towards the stage. His pale eyes locking onto the bear.

He had a plan. He remembered how much Junko loved games and challenges that made everything more fun. He remembered how much she hated being bored. And even if this wasn't her, if this was someone else, maybe they would still be enticed by the idea of a challenge.

"You're looking pretty rough tonight, Nagito." Monokuma chirped, skipping to the edge of the stage to meet Nagito as he walked closer.

Right before he reached the edge, Nagito tripped, barely catching himself on the edge of the stage. He took a moment to cough, his hands shaking as he covered his mouth.

"Are you okay?" The phrase sounded… as concerned as that annoying voice could get. Though it quickly picked back up to it's annoying mockery. "Don't wanna die before all the fun starts, do ya?"

"You're just as much of a nuisance as I remember. But just like before, hope will defeat you. In the end, Despair always loses." Komaeda let out a chuckle, covering half of his face with his hand. "And once again, I shall be a stepping stone leading to our victory!"

"Ooooh! Not this again! I hate it when he does this!" Kazuichi mumbled somewhere from the back of the room. "I wish he'd just shut up!"

Komaeda ignored him, as everyone usually did. Instead, he smirked. Leaning over the stage to challenge the bear. The tips of his fingers digging into his face gently as he looked over. "I challenge you to a game? How does that sound?"

"Uuuuuuh- What kind of game?" Monokuma paused, which felt really strange at the moment. Had Komaeda ever seen the bear… Was that a moment of hesitation. "I challenge you to a game of wits and luck."

"Hmmmmm…" There was a moment of silence as Komaeda saw the eye of the bear flicker. It was as if a circuit blew inside of it. Suddenly the flash caused the machine to roar to life. "A game? What were you thinking? I would love a good challenge! A chance to remind you all how below me you are."

"I want to play a game to try and win your identity. Though, I'm not sure what we could offer…?" Komaeda started, tapping his jaw as he thought it over.

Monokuma pressed his paws to his cheeks, turning hot red for a moment before letting out a huff. "How about we play a juicy game of strip poker? Then, once all the clothes are gone… We play for secrets? I _love_ exposing secrets of people in vulnerable positions."

"Nagito… I don't know about this. It sounds a little dangerous." Hajime offered, leaning over the taller man's shoulder with a worried look.

This was what Komaeda wanted. He knew a game like that would rely more on luck than skill. Though, he didn't know how to play this game too well. But if Komaeda was keeping track, he was in swing for another strike of good luck. Time to finally put his worthless talent to use.

"No wa-" Kazuichi went to respond, walking over to the stage.

"Sounds perfect!" Komaeda laughed over the two who were distressing next to him. "How about we see you in the living quarters in a few hours, how does that sound?"

"Sounds like a deal, Nagito Komaeda." The ursine machine put out one of his paws, offering a gentle handshake, which Komaeda steadily accepted. This was his chance. His one moment to truly try and defeat this bear and go home to the only family he could really remember. Firmly shaking his hand, Nagito watched as the bear waddled off, waving before vanishing back into the stage. "PUHUHUHUHUHU! See you all in a few hours."

"Looks as if Monokuma is still just as perverted as before…" Kazuchi grumbled, scratching his jaw.

"Nagito, what were you thinking? It was probably some kind of trap… What are we going to do if we lose?"

Komaeda chuckled, moving in and gently kissing his cheek before pulling away. "Don't you know by now that I always have a plan to raise hope, a chance for us to get ahead."

"To be fair, two times you came up with a plan they were bombs! One time you blew me across the damn room." Kazuichi scratched his head under his hat as he spoke.

"He's done the bomb thing twice?" Makoto looked more alert before taking a deep breath. "Well, it's too late now. At this point, all we can do is wait and try to win."

"Don't worry, I have this under control" Komaeda said, a hand covering his face as he let out a long, breathy sigh.

* * *

Koba was sipping at his drink as he sat on the edge of Himura's bed. He seemed pretty absorbed in it at the moment, drinking away and occasionally spooning out the whipped cream with the straw. Himura had put together a beautifully done chocolate and caramel frappè with a good helping of whipped cream on the top. It was simple but Koba was digging into it like it was the best thing ever.

"This is so good!" Koba smiled as he scooped another bite of whipped cream into his mouth. "Best coffee I've ever had."

Sweeney was sitting at the small table in the room, slowly drinking his with a confused smile. Himura had made him a tall café latte, seeming as Sweeney seemed like someone who liked cream but didn't want to admit it as much. "Weirdly enough, I agree with Koba. This is really good."

Himura smiled, glad he had pleased his friends before he went and poured himself another cup of black, instant coffee. He paused, swallowing a bit harder as he looked over at Kaito, who was quietly leaned over the counter, observing his supplies.

"Are you sure you don't want a cup?" Himura asked, shuddering as those blue eyes turned to gaze upon him once more.

"Oh, I don't know... " Kaito said gently, rubbing his neck as he leaned over the counter. "I don't want to be a bother darling."

"Bother? Making coffee is what relieves my anxiety… It makes me feel good. It wouldn't be a bother at all." Himura said gently, nervously rubbing his thumb into his palm as he waited for an answer.

"So it would make you happy, right? If you made me a cup of coffee it would help?" Kaito asked, his voice slowing down as he let his gaze gently move over the supplies.

"It would make me as happy as I can get." Himura said, a gentle smile creasing his lips as he looked up at the actor.

"Than amaze me darling." Kaito suddenly whipped himself back into his wide grin, his long lashes batting over his eyes as he leaned a little closer. "I love watching you work anyways."

Himura smiled, glad the chance had finally been handed to him. He would not let this opportunity go to waste. He quickly got to work, thinking over what would perfectly suit the beautiful actor. He needed something elegant, rich, and with lots of cream. Working quietly for a moment, he put together a masterpiece he knew the actor would enjoy. He finally decided what he wanted to do as he started up the espresso machine. He pulled out a jug of milk from his mini fridge, putting it in so that he could steam it. He felt relaxed as he worked, melting into his own world again as he focused on what his hands were doing. He was surprised he that he wasn't nervous about this. Something inside of him knew he'd make the perfect coffee for the actor. Besides, he'd never messed up before. It was the one thing he was confident in.

Slowly he put together the tall cup of coffee. Just a small shot of espresso in the bottom, the rest smooth, steamed milk. A beautifully crafted galão that he carefully handed over to the actor.

"A galão. I know you'll love it. It's not too strong and it shouldn't stain your teeth." Himura smiled as the actor picked the cup up. His slender fingers wrapping around the long cup.

"Oh, I know I'll love it, darlin'." Kaito said, gingerly taking the brim of the cup up to his lips and gently sipping from it.

Himura quietly waited for that light up of their eyes. That moment where they tasted the perfect coffee that was made for them. And yet, the spark never showed. A gentle smile crossed his lips but it was barely the reaction Himura had expected. Was he wrong this time?

"Wow, you're supposed to be an actor, Kaito, couldn't you do a little bit better job at pretending you like it? Damn!" Sweeney remarked from his spot as his already finished drink sat on the table.

"I'm not pretending hun, this is my happy face." Kaito shot back, a bit more venom to his voice than the barista had expected.

"Whatever." Sweeney grumbled, turning back to his cup and spinning it on the table.

Kaito quickly turned back to Himura with the most forced smile the barista had ever seen him make. "Don't listen to him, I _love_ it."

"Hey, there you guys are, the party is starting upstairs!" The door swung open, Luna popping her head in as her gaze swept over everyone in the room. "I'll meet you all up there, ok?"

Sweeney and Koba hopped up, leaving their empty cups on the table before following the seamstress out. Kaito paused, glancing at his own drink before chugging the whole thing down in one gulp. A swift throw back of his head and the entire drink was gone. In no way was the taste savored - just devoured in a hurry.

"Delicious!" Kaito said, his usual smile crossing his lips before moving to hold his hand gently. Himura let him, of course. Letting him lead him from the room. But part of him was still stuck on it. Out of everything, that initial drink had never been wrong. Even with people who didn't like coffee he could develop a tea or some other treat to suit their needs. Never had he failed before. He had only known Kaito for a few weeks, but out of everyone here, he felt like he knew him the most. So why had he been wrong.

Kaito sighed, swallowing hard as the two left the room, heading up towards the cafe on the third floor.

* * *

When they finally got Komaeda back up the stairs, Nagito felt like he was going to pass out. Hajime had his arm looped around his side tight as they reached the top, though Kazuichi immediately let go of Komaeda the second they no longer needed his help. Almost as if Komaeda was the greasy one out of the two.

Komaeda let out a long, drawn out sigh as he leaned more on Hajime. He looked around the upstairs and paused as he saw the long table setup. Sitting at the table were two Monokumas, one sitting at the end of the table and one sitting in the dealer's location. A special card dispenser next to the second Monokuma.

The table was specially decked out with five different chairs. Each carefully placed around the table. In front of each one was a small glass, containing some darker liquid. Next to the glass was a small pile of tokens, about 50 for each player. The main Monokuma sat at the table, swirling the margarita in his hand with a delicate motion of his wrist. One of those strange, green hats laid on Monokuma's forehead; his body dressed over his body was an elegant, tiny suit. Making him look finely dressed in his personally made suit. A thick, red scarf rested over his shoulders and a cigar poked out of the corner of his mouth. Guess it was too much to ask for the normal, naked Monokuma to play against.

"Good evening, boys!" Monokuma took a big puff from the fat cigar in his mouth, good to know they designed a robot to smoke. "Are you all dressed and ready to play our little game?"

"As ready as we'll ever be." Kazuichi grumbled, flopping down in one of the chairs before slouching like some moody teen.

"What rules do you bestow upon this game?" Gundam asked, taking a seat next to Souda as he looked over the table. "I have never heard of such lowly duels."

"I'm unfamiliar as well." Makoto gently sat in the chair across from the dealer, giving the glass of alcohol a weird look before adjusting in the chair that was too big for him.

The dealer huffed, shuffling a few cards as he made his remark. "Of course a weenie like you has never played strip poker!"

The main Monokuma swirled his drink, glaring at his dealer for a moment before taking a sip.

Komaeda and Hajime took their seats, Hajime sitting right next to the bear, leaving Komaeda wedged between Hinata and Gundam. The fact that they had sat down seemed to bring Monokuma's attention back to the game.

"Rules are simple! One coin is worth 5 points. Jackets, vests and coats are worth 10 as well. Than bracelets, ties, bows, socks, shoes and other accessories are 5. Shirts are 20, pants are 25, and panties and undies are a whole 30 points! When we do a blind deal, you have to call, raise, or fold! You can also reveal secrets as an attempt to play after all clothes are removed or you can give up! PUHUHUHU! So who's ready to have some fun?" Monokuma smiled as he looked over the table, another cloud of smoke rising from his face.

"I doubt this is what I'd ever call _f u n_." Gundam said, looking down at the small cup in front of him. "What is this vile substance?"

"It's alcohol, how can you be so sheltered?" Souda grumbled as he went to look over his own drink, wrinkling his nose as he took a small whiff of it.

"It's a kicker, boys. It's called the Four Horseman. It'll really knock you off your asses!" Monokuma lifted his margarita and pretended to take another sip. "That way we can have even more _fun."_

"I think it's pretty obvious why you're really giving us this," Hajime started, sniffing it for a moment before putting it back on the table, "If you make us drink this we'll be easier to read and less competent."

"What kind of claim is that! This alcohol was a gift to you all long before we decided to play this little game." Monokuma smiled before snapping his fingers. Well, more like the sound happened after he shook his hand like he had fingers "Deal everyone in, we don't have all night."

The Dealokuma jumped for the chance, grabbing the pile of cards he had been shuffling before slowly dealing each card out to the players. The cards were a special deck, ones decorated with elaborate drawings of all the students in the school plus the teachers. While Komaeda had only his own cards in his hand, he got the idea that they all matched this certain theme. After receiving his five cards, Komaeda carefully picked them up, looking them over. He looked around, taking in everyone's emotions for a moment. Monokuma had an unfair advantage in this game, most likely one of the reasons the asshole chose it. The robotic creature didn't have a very big range when it came to facial expressions. Just that menacing grin that he always carried.

"For the betting, I'll start us off." Monokuma smirked, taking another long drag from his cigar before pushing all of his chips into the center of the table. "50 points."

"Ha! Are you kidding?" Kazuichi blurted, pushing all of his into the center of the table. "No way you have something that good already!"

Gundam looked confused for a moment, shrugging before doing the same.

"I feel like this is a trap…" Makoto whimpered, looking over his cards before sighing. "I uh… I don't want to do this round."

"It's called folding, dummy!" Dealokuma sounded more like he was scolding a child. "And raising is if you want to bet more."

"O-Oh! Okay, thanks." Makoto said, putting his hand on the table before sighing. "Than I fold."

The main Monokuma glared at his dealer again, rolling his eyes before he moved onto Komaeda.

Nagito smiled, dropping in a few of his coins before he stood up and took off his jacket. Dropping it in the center of the table before sitting back down.

"You're taking clothes off already?" Souda asked.

"I'll be getting it back in a few seconds anyways." Komaeda smiled gently, leaning back in his chair with a sigh. "So I don't see what's wrong with saving my coins."

Hajime sighed, pushing in his own stack before scratching the back of his head. "Well, I guess I'm in too. If it's all going to Nagito then might as well help him win."

Monokuma huffed, causing smoke to pour from his mouth before he waved his hand at Nagito "Well how about we see what you got or you can just go ahead and say goodbye to your coat now, Nagito. It'll save us some time."

Komaeda smirked, tossing his hand down on the table before shaking his head gently. "Huh? What's this? A 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7? What is that called… A straight flush?"

"I believe that's the best hand you can get in poker, Nagito." Hajime smirked, setting down his own hand of four of a kind. "Looks like you don't really stand a chance, huh?"

Komaeda could sense it for a moment. Hajime was trying hard to channel the powers of Kamukura. He knew how taxing it was on the other man but if they wanted to get through this they might need more help than a waste like Nagito. He just hoped he wouldn't have to use the powers too much.

"Oh dear, what is a sexy wittle bear like me ever gonna do in the presence of such strong men like you!" Monokuma huffed, his face turned red as he fanned himself with his cards. He took a moment before tossing his hand down on the table. "Oh, I know exactly what I'll do."

Down on the table were four perfectly lined up kings and one joker card with the ugly monotoned bear printed onto it. The bear quickly burst into laughter.

"Hey! You didn't tell us you were using wildcards!" Kazuichi blurted, his… less than impressive hand already flat on the table. "That's cheating!"

"Cheating! It's not cheating! Don't be such a sore loser you sniveling rat. How about you all just stay quiet and get naked for me, that sounds like more fun to me." Monokuma puffed his cigar, going to take all of his winnings before the dealer paused and lifted up one of his paws.

"Wait, Tanaka, your cards please." The Monokuma said, glancing over at the lord of darkness with a curious gaze.

"Aha! My trap card has been activated! Feast your eyes!" Gundam dramatically slammed his hand on the table, only to reveal a similar set of cards, except Gundam's had been decorated with perfectly placed aces. Five of a kind, including his joker card, which had a crying Monomi drawn on.

"Wa-Wa-What? But? H-Hey!" Monokuma blurted, spilling his drink a little as a few bouts of smoke bellowed from his mouth. "How did you do that?"

"The dark powers within me have summoned dark entities to aid their lord during this battle. They will not allow me to lose." Gundam spat, laughing as the dealer pushed all of the winnings over to the breeder.

"Wh-what ever! You got lucky this time!" Monokuma huffed as he angrily tossed his cards at the other Monokuma and chugging his Margarita. "Anyways, every time you lose or fold, take a drink! It's a new rule! Do it!"

Makoto's nose wrinkled as he lifted his drink up to his face, taking a deep breath before coughing. "That's not really fair. You're a robot, drinking doesn't affect you."

"Trust me, I'm drinking while playing. Like I'd pass the chance to get shit faced." Monokuma teased chuckling as he suddenly got angry again. "Now _drink_."

Makoto sighed, taking a long drink before coughing. He looked like he was about to die from the drink. Nagito and Hajime, however, quickly took a long drinks before setting the glasses down on the table. Souda drank some, coughing but recovering faster than Makoto, who was still struggling.

"Wow, you're so pathetic it's almost no fun to watch you do this." Monokuma laughed, glancing over at his dealer before his body gave a long, drawn out buzz.

"Looks like the kids are up to something, do me a favor and go keep an eye on them." Monokuma insisted, leaning over and eyeing the other Monokuma. "I don't want to leave them alone for too long. Kids these days get into soooo much trouble!"

The dealer nodded, hopping down from the table and scampering off downstairs. Monokuma scooped up the cards, shuffling them before looking around. "From this point on, Makoto will deal, I don't want to deal with two lucky students. Plus, this game's no fun when you play."

Makoto paused taking the deck before taking the place of the other Monokuma, seating himself at the center of the table. "Sounds fine to me, as long as I don't have to drink that awful stuff anymore…"

Makoto started the next round of dealing, just as Nagito made eye contact with the bear again. He hadn't anticipated Gundam's win, but it was still in their favor. He couldn't help but wonder if Hajime actively using the stored talents was having an affect on his own luck. Either way, Komaeda let out a long sigh. Tonight was going to be a long night.

* * *

"Oh good, you finally got up here Himura~!" Sato met them at the door, a big grin on her face and a drink already in her hand. Looked like she was more ready for this party than Himura was. "I was worried I was gonna have ta drag you here myself!"

"Haha...nah, I came." Himura replied, rubbing his neck as he looked around the dimly lit cafe. Trying hard not to think about the fact someone had died here recently.

"Here, let me get ya a drink." Sato smiled as she walked over to the counter, which was filled with a variety of bottles and cups. She started messing with a few of them as Kaito leaned over Himura's shoulder.

"Are you okay with drinking? Do you want me to tell her to back off?" Kaito asked, carefully looking over Himura.

"Wha? No, it's fine. Don't worry about it." Himura said, moving to pat Kaito's arm. "We're just here to have fun with friends anyways."

Kaito paused before nodding with a smile before flipping his hair. "Of course dear. I just wanted to make sure!"

Himura nodded and paused as Sato ran over carrying about 6 cups, most of them cradled in her arms while one was being held up by her teeth. She carefully gave a cup to each of them at the door, leaving herself with two after she gave them out to her friends. She chugged one of the drinks she was holding and threw the cup to the floor when she finished, yelling, "Let's get this party started!"

"Can you, like, chill?" Sweeney grumbled, watching as Sato was already beginning to chug her second cup.

"Party!" Koba shouted next, taking his cup and taking a big gulp from it before coughing and hugging himself. Hunched over for a moment as he tried to recover. "That tastes awful!"

Everyone laughed and even Himura couldn't help the giggles that bubbled up. Koba looked confused as they all giggled, scratching the back of his head as he watched all of his friends, his face slowly turning red as he slowly began to understand that they were all laughing at him.

"Oh Koba you're such a riot!" Sato finished off her second drink before chuckling. "Take it a little slower, champ."

"Also, make sure you all eat something and drink water." Bellerose called from across the room, near where she had set up plenty of food. "Don't make yourselves sick."

Koba huffed, pouting as he tapped his fingers on his cup. "I could chug it if I wanted."

"Oh, we all know honey." Kaito chuckled, patting Koba's head before taking a sip from his cup. "So, what are we planning on doing? I hope it's not just standing around and drinking."

"Of course not!" Sato laughed as if this was some kind of amazing joke. "We were thinking of playing the The King Game."

"The King Game? What is that?" Sweeney asked. Himura remembered that he wasn't from Japan like most of them so it made sense he hadn't heard of it before.

"It's a Party game that we do here in Japan. People use it to get to know eachother better. It's usually a whole ton of fun! Right, Himura?" Kaito smiled as he leaned down, peaking over Himura's shoulder.

"Wait, why would I know?" Himura shrugged at the idea of being at a party. His current situation was the closest he'd ever come to having friends and to play a party game or even to have a party you really needed to have friends. "I don't go to parties."

"Oops! My mistake. Guess I've been to so many parties that I just expect the same from everyone." Kaito pulled the rose from his shirt again, taking a moment to longingly stare at it before letting out a long, drawn out sigh. "The woes of being popular."

"I haven't played before either." Koba said, looking over Sato before shrugging.

"Jeez y'all are losers!" Sato smashed the cup currently in her hand, laughing as she tossed the ruined cup onto the ground.

"Sato!" Bellerose walked over, crossing her arms as she glared at the racer. "Stop wasting the cups. Just reuse them."

"Aw come on suga, it's fiiiine. They're just stupid plastic cups!" Sato wrapped her arm around Bellerose's shoulder as she put most of her weight on her. "Plus it gives that stupid bear more stuff ta clean!"

Bellerose groaned, leaning away a bit from Sato as she looked more irritated. "I don't understand why you keep pushing his buttons. Isn't it a better idea to just behave?"

"Hey guys, before another fight breaks out, how about we start that fun, friendly game?" Niijima mumbled. The DJ looked even more tired than the previous day. Deep rings forming underneath her eyes. "I really don't want to listen to that again today."

"Right! Good idea! Luna, do you have the paper I gave you?" Sato called out, only to have Luna hurry over with nine small pieces of paper. "So the rules are simple. Everyone grabs a piece of paper and each one is labeled with a number except for one! One is labeled as the king. Whoever is the king gets to tell the numbers what to do but there's a catch! They have no idea who has what number!"

"So… they're kind of just guessing, right?" Iris asked, rubbing her jaw before giggling at the idea. "It kind of reminds me of truth or dare! Except this sounds a lot more fun!"

"Huh, reminds me a bit of la vache qui tache. Weird how many drinking games there are around the world." Bellerose stated, rubbing her jaw slightly as she seemed to think the process over.

"I wouldn't want to play a French drinking game! Do you just take turns sipping wine while trying out expensive cheeses? G." Sato practically shouted her opinion on this which only seemed to make Bellerose more angry.

"Does your mouth ever stay closed? All you do is spout nonsense! Keep it closed or I'm gonna close it for you!" Bellerose snapped at Sato, pushing the buzzed student away from her before crossing her arms, practically fuming at this point.

"How about we start, everyone draw a piece of paper." Luna instructed, holding out the hand of paper before looking around at everyone. "Let's have some fun together and get to know each other."

"Fine." Bellerose grumbled as she snatched one up.

"...Okay…" Sato kept tossing sad glances at Bellerose, sighing as she pulled free one of the papers.

Everyone else grabbed one as well, looking it over to see what number they got. Himura sighed as he looked his over. For now he was number 3.

"Alright, who's king?" Luna asked, her eyes gazing over everyone as they went to take a seat at the arranged table. Booth like seats allowing them to sit decently close to each other.

"What luck!" Sato piped up, smirking as she waved her paper for everyone to see. "Looks like I'm the king!" Sato smirked, showing off her toothy grin as she looked everyone over. "Here's what I decree! I want number 2 to sit on my lap for 30 seconds! I feel like that's a good place to start."

"I'm number 2!" Iris gasped, showing her paper before standing up. "All I have to do is sit on your lap?"

Sato looked like she might explode when she nodded. "Yeah! That's it!"

Iris smiled, walking over and sitting on Sato's lap before giggling. "Well, this is the easiest dare I've ever done."

"Well you're perfectly lap sized." Sato smirked, though she was keeping her hands to her sides as she spoke. "You're welcome to sit here whenever you want."

Iris giggled and sat there for a little bit longer before hopping off and going back to her seat. It seemed like a pretty simple start to a game Himura imagined could go downhill fast.

"Luna shuffled the papers again before holding them out. She took a sip of her drink before looking around at everyone. "Every round we should take a drink, that way everyone gets a little buzzed."

"Unless ya don't wanna drink," Sato started as she looked over at Niijima, "caz that's cool too."

Niijima just nodded, sitting in her chair with a glum look on her face, even though, she was still playing along with her more energized classmates. Everyone took a drink before grabbing the next piece of paper for the new round. Himura quietly looked over his card, taking in now that he was now number 7.

"Oh! I got the king card this time." Luna smirked and chuckled. "Since it's still early, I'll keep it vanilla for now. But I dare number 4 and number 7 to cuddle. Real close and intimate until the next dare."

"I'm number 7…" Himura mumbled as he tried to figure out who number 4 was. "But whose-?"

It was obvious the second his eyes locked onto the other person. A beat red face was a dead giveaway that Koba was number four. He was obviously trying to hide it, his hand trying to cover his rosey, red cheeks as he just radiated embarrassment.

Himura paused, everyone was staring at them and waiting with small smiles. Even Kaito seemed to put on an excited smile.

"Aw, won't this be cute?" Kaito joked as Himura scooted to sit closer to the skater, who was getting redder by the moment.

Himura chuckled, taking a small drink, which Sato had made way too strong, before reaching over and carefully looping one of his fingers in the loop of of Koba's shorts and slowly dragging him closer. The scientist was a lot lighter than Himura had anticipated and it didn't a lot of effort to pull him closer. "You okay?" Himura asked once he was closer, noticing Koba was shaking slightly.

"O-Of course! Why would you think otherwise, homie?!" Koba yelled a lot louder than necessary before swallowing. "How do ya… uh, want us to cuddle?"

Himura chuckled before putting the smaller student in a big hug, wrapping his arms around his waist with a long sigh. "Probably like this, right Luna." Himura chuckled before burying his face into Koba's neck.

"Exactly like that!" Luna smiled as she gathered all the papers together, looking pretty amused at the display. "Now, stay like that until the next dare."

"O-Okay." Koba said, leaving Himura to just feel how warm he was getting. Though he wasn't sure if that was a side effect of the alcohol or from being so close to each other.

Everyone drew another piece of paper. Himura not leaving Koba's side as he grabbed a new piece of paper. Once again he was just another number. He almost preferred it this way, he really didn't want to be the one to give orders. He honestly prefered being told what to do or just watching what happens.

"Looks like I'm finally the boss. About time someone gave me some kind of authority around here." Bellerose smiled as she waved her paper. "I want numbers one and 8 to take their shirts off."

Himura moved away from Koba as their dare was over. But the second he scooted back to Kaito, the actor stood up on his feet.

"It's time for the moment everyone was waiting for!" Kaito smiled as he set his number one piece of paper down. "But who am I undressing with?"

"That would be me." Sato smirked as she stood to her feet. Her jumpsuit was already half zipped down her chest.

The tallest kids left were both standing over their classmates. Both of them seemed more than ready to go on with this dare. At the same time they both removed their shirts. Kaito carefully unbuttoned his shirt as he gently slid it off his shoulders, avoiding the chance for it to mess with his hair before tossing it to the side before flopping back down in his chair. Sato was a lot less graceful about it, unzipping her suit down to her belly button before roughly freeing her arms. Once the entire top half was free of her suit she tied it right above her hips, probably the only thing keeping it from falling all the way down.

Kaito, weirdly enough, hadn't worn his usual waist high pants, instead opting for a pair that went up just below his belly button. Once again showing off his nice, muscled body. Himura took a long drink before he tried to lean a bit closer to him.

Sato, on the other side of the table, had a big grin on her face as she sat back down near Bellerose. Her bra was decorated with what looked like the finish line of a race track. Her sharp teeth shined in the dark of the room as she slouched back in her chair. Shooting Bellerose a big grin as she settled down.

"Pleased with what ya got?" Sato questioned, winking as she settled in her chair.

"Kinda, I wanted to get Kaito to take his shirt off." Bellerose remarked, glancing over at the actor with a grin. "Though I'm always surprised when you take your shirt off. I never thought you'd look like _that_ in person."

"Well I have to look beautiful on every inch of my skin." Kaito remarked, moving to wrap an arm around Himura's shoulders as he continued to gloat. "You shouldn't be so surprised, honestly, I'm as beautiful as men come."

"What about me?" Sato asked, leaning a little closer to Bellerose again. "Don't I just look amazing?"

Bellerose sighed before placing her hand on Sato's face and pushing her away. "I'd rather you put your breasts away, god knows where they've been."

"What?" Sato laughed, though her face was still pressed to against the palm of the chef's hand. "I think you're one of the most beautiful girls 'ere. I just want some attention from ya~."

"Why are you like this!" Bellerose pulled her hand away when Sato decided it was a good idea to lick it.

Luna gathered up the papers again to start the next round before Niijima quickly tugged one free and read it over.

"Oh good… I'm the king." She stood up, suddenly all eyes were on the usually soft spoken student as she looked everyone over but her gaze focused on Bellerose half way through. "I only came because I thought we'd bond as friends… I thought it would help me recover from everything that's going on. But all you two do is fight with each other and-and I don't get why someone like you get live Bellerose when Kusonoki had to die! You're mean and cold and she was friendly and inviting! All you do is act like it's understandable to kill! That we can never just be friends and that we won't get out of here. It's not fair. So as the King, I declare I go back to my own room and wait until you all decide to grow up."

Niijima dropped the paper, leaving the room in a rush. Himura barely saw it before she ducked out of the door but Himura just barely got a glimpse of the large tears that rolled down her cheeks.

"I guess drinking really was a good idea." Bellerose mumbled as she grabbed a bottle, refilling her cup with a cold, collected look filtering her narrow face. "I guess I should apologize for doubting you guys."

There was an awkward moment that fell over everyone. A heavy silence that no one wanted to break. Silence for them all to remember everyone who died so far. Himura couldn't help remember Eguchi and Yunokawa… they had both been people he'd trusted, who had helped him through the darkest moments of their life here. He remembered how Yunokawa offered her help and support. He remembered how when he couldn't even get out of bed Eguchi came and helped him out of his room, making it so no one would be able to tell what a mess he was. Yet now, he was sitting here, thinking about the friends he'd made and how he'd trusted them… and how they had both tried to blame their murders on him.

Suddenly, everything was too much. He stood to his feet quickly, everything was a blur as he quickly finished the last of his drink. He mumbled out a goodnight to everyone, ignoring their panicked looks as he turned down Kaito's offer to walk him back to his room. His mind started to race as he stumbled out of the room.

Going to sleep sounded like a great idea. To ride off the drowsiness of the alcohol and use it as a helper to fall asleep on time. But as he strolled towards his room he saw the computer room door just barely cracked open. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was about 10 'o'clock. Looking at that door, knowing the computer room was banned at night inspired something inside of him. Maybe it was the memory of his dead friends or the need to fight back or even the alcohol, but he really wanted to break that rule. He turned, going inside of the computer room before slamming the door shut behind him. Then, right after the door shut, he heard it. The door click behind him as the Nighttime announcement went off.

It was time to see why Monokuma had banned them from the room.

Himura walked around, pausing as he saw one of the computer was the only light on in the room. Some weird screen filled with code. Taking a few steps closer, he could read some of the words on the computer. From what he could understand it claimed to be downloading some AI. He read a name but before he could really digest what he was reading all the monitors in the room lit up, showing a strange… new announcement from Monokuma.

Himura paused, watching this new message in horror before he felt a tug on his wrist, looking down to see a pink, bunny like toy pulling on his sleeve.

"Wh-what are you doing in here? W-We gotta get you outta, he's already mad!" The bunny slowly tugged him towards the door. She was shaking at this point, hugging onto Himura's arm as she sobbed.

...what the hell was going on.

* * *

" _It is now 10 p.m.! It is officially nighttime! The teacher's room is now locked off and computer room locked!"_

At this point of the game, it didn't look obvious who was going to win. Komaeda and Monokuma kept having back and forths with this game. Monokuma never had a low hand, always in the top hands of the game. He never folded either, always having his paws filled with some kind of powerhouse.

Right now, everyone was doing okay, except for Kazuichi, who was already down to his underwear. Though everyone had lost some clothes during this game, it should have been obvious Kazuichi would be down this early on when he only had about four articles of clothing on to start with. Kazuichi was grumbling to himself over his new hand, trying to figure out if he should keep going. All of them were a bit tipsy at this point, a few cups each. Though, Kazuichi had lost every round so far and looked like he was at his limit.

Nagito, on the other hand, was ready to win or at least end the game here and now. It was his turn to start the betting. At this point, he'd lost everything but his shirt and pants. Monokuma had been stripped down to about the same.

"Go ahead and start the betting Nagito."Monokuma leaned over the table, left with only his button up shirt and boxers on his stupid stuffed form.

"I want to make a final bet. One last gamble for whoever will truly win this game, otherwise we might be here all night."Komaeda stood to his feet, smiling as he took off his shirt. Komaeda smirked as he removed all the clothes he had left, tossing them into the center of the table before sitting back down. "If that sounds okay to you?"

Monokuma huffed, but not in an angry way. His face was all red again as he started to fan himself off with his cards. "How could I ever turn down a request like that!"

Monokuma took off his remaining clothes, stripping down to how everyone usually saw him. But still he pretended to cover himself up. "Who else is willing to stip down for this final round?"

"Not me! I quit! This whole game was stupid!" Kazuchi growled as he tossed his cards onto the table. Huffing as he hugged himself. "Can I have my stupid clothes back?"

"I shall back out as well." Gundam said, placing his cards on the table with a sigh. "I do not believe this is my battle any longer."

Hajime paused before he put his cards down as well, though his face was slightly flushed. "I think you got this… but it's still hard to take this seriously when you're naked like that."

"Huh?" Komaeda paused before chuckling. "I guess it already slipped my mind. Anyways, Monokuma, it's just you and me so let's see your hand."

Monokuma chuckled as he laid down his hand on the table. He laid down his straight flush across the table, smiling as he looked over at Komaeda. His horrid giggle rising up and moving around his paw. But Nagito couldn't hide the smile that spread over his face, especially when it killed the grin over the bear's face. With a sigh, he placed the tips of his fingers against his forehead, sighing as he looked over from the corner of his eyes.

"Huh, looks like we won." Nagito said as he laid down his five of a kind. "You know what that means, right? That you'll tell us who you are."

Monokuma went blank again as if someone had reset him. He just stared, motionless for a few moments. Until suddenly, that silence was broken.

"PUHUHUHUHHUHUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA **HA!** Did you idiots really think i would just _tell_ you who I am? This game isn't that easy. I'm not going to just _give_ you answers." Monokuma was breaking down in laughter. His amusement was dripping from him like a thick slime.

"That's not fair!" Kazuichi shouted over the table. Grabbing his jumpsuit and tugging it back on angrily. "Then what was even the point of this humiliating spectacle!"

"I was bored!" Monokuma shot back, though he was much more amused by Kazuichi's anger. "You're all boring! You just sit around all day speculating who I am. Yet all you idiots can come up with is that I'm the glorious, beautiful, Junko Enoshima! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! It's so pathetic! All you can think of is a washed up dead girl as the culprit! But I can promise you this."

A heavy, dark shadow seemed to fall over Monokuma in a flash. The goofy, happy tone washed away for something much more foreboding. His red eye glowed brighter than before, a splash of soul swallowing light that was emitted behind the glass shape structure. "I'm not here for _games_. I have a _goal_ and that's to make sure Hope dies forever. Junko was an idiot, she let her boredom control her actions and she played by her stupid rules. In the end, it's what made her _lose_. When I'm done here it will be greater than the Tragedy. There will he no hope to recover from the devastation of this despair. You'll all die with these students or watch yourselves be refilled with the despair that once plagued you. There is no way for you five to win this game."

They were silent for a moment. Unsure of how to respond to that display. A moment to just take in the dark, emptiness that seemed to follow that speech. But there being no way to win had to be some kind of test. Nagito refused to believe that there was no way out of this. It was impossible to make an unwinnable game, nor was it any fun for the mastermind. But no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't quite wrap his head around the words. If only-

" **Fuck you!"** Souda bellowed, suddenly there was something in his hand, a bottle maybe, he was waving it around angrily as he spat at the horrible bear. " **FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCK Y O U!** You're going to let us out of here! Right now! We won! Give us something for it o-Or I'll."

"Or you'll what, cry about it?" Monokuma teased just as tears streamed down Souda's cheeks. "There's nothing you can do to-"

It happened so fast, no one had the chance to stop it. The bottle flying from Souda's hand, soaring across the room until it made contact with the bear's head. The force causing it to shatter, pieces of glass scattering around as Monokuma was drenched with the liquor that had been trapped inside the glass bottle.

"Did you ju- That was so expensive you IDIOT!" Monokuma shook the stuff off his body as he lept onto the table. He grabbed Kazuichi by the collar of his jumpsuit before he could run away. "But I guess I'll have to thank you in the end. You just broke a rule. Now I get to have some real fun with you."

All the monitors lit up. Monokuma popping up on every screen with a pre recorded message. Monokuma couldn't help but laugh as the message blared throughout the school. Saying one last remark before letting the message play. "I hate when people break my rules. This will remind everyone to stay in line."

" _Ding Dong! We've got a rule breaker among us! Everyone get up! I want students to gather in the gym, teachers, you get the Video Room on the first floor! I'll see you all there for your first Killing Mini Game!"_

Kazuichi went to take a step back but Monokuma grabbed him by the throat before dragging him with him. "Oh no, not you. You're coming with me!"

Before anyone could respond, they were both gone, the monitors flashing in the dark of the room, leaving them all behind.

Whatever was about it wasn't going to be good...


	17. Happy Birthday, Souda Kazuichi

Monomi seemed distracted as the monitors went off, her eyes stuck on the screen as if it was pulling her into some kind of trance. Himura watched in horror, unsure what was even going on. That was when the screen lit up, showing a small pixel Souda being dragged away by a matching Monokuma. A small countdown going on above the small scene, showing exactly when this "Minigame" was going to take place.

"N-N-No! Th-Th-this wasn't supposed to happen yet!" Monomi ran over to the computer, looking at it with a worried stare before running back. "I have to get you to the gym… o-o-or else they'll notice you're missing!"

"Who are you?" Himura asked, looking down at the stuffed rabbit with a curious look.

The rabbit paused, staring at him before letting out a soft sound and trembling. She looked nervous, as if she was about to break down from him just asking her a simple question. It must have been too much for her because she ran over to the door, pausing before there was a soft click of the lock.

She paused, turning to look at Himura before grabbing his wrist and dragging him out of the room. The stuffed toy had a lot of power for, well, a stuffed toy. She pulled him through the halls with ease, guiding him down the stairs and to the gym.

She stopped near the door, pushing him towards it. Himura stumbled into the first section, going through the door and barely keeping himself from falling. Looking back, he wasn't surprised to see the pink bunny was already gone.

Himura's head was still spinning but he had more urgent matters to attend. Like the fact that someone was about to be punished.

* * *

"Who is it?" Sato said as she entered the gym. She must have ran here since she was one of the first ones to enter the room. Her head whipped around as she looked for some kind of clue. "Who broke a rule?"

Koba looked around at everyone else in the room. They all gathered close together in the center of the room. All of them had panicked, distraught looks smeared onto their face. Fumio had been one of the first students to enter the room, it probably helped that he'd just been passing the gym when the alarm went off.

"I don't think it was one of us." Bellerose looked concerned but her voice remained calm. She had a matter of fact look about her, as if she knew what she was saying was true. "Most of us were still upstairs when the alarm went off… and everyone who went to bed already is here."

"Except Himura." Kaito's eyes scanned the area, panic covering his usually calm face. "Has anyone seen Himura?"

"He didn't come back to his room…" Niijima said from the back of the room, the DJ had already dressed down into pjs. Silky cat pajamas with a cute little cap with cat ears. It was one of the first times Koba had ever seen her ears. Though, there was still a dark, metal piece inside of her ear. "I never saw him come back."

"N-No!" Kaito huffed, looking more frantic by the second. "It can't be Himura he'd never do something so stupid! If he-"

Suddenly a part of the floor opened up, a thin slit that appeared near the group. With a mechanical hum, a large, flat screen tv started to rise up from the ground. Everyone was suddenly silent as they looked it over. Afraid of what was about to appear on the screen. Though no one was surprised when Monokuma's ugly mug flashed onto the glass monitor.

"Good evening students! Are you excited for your first Minigame?" Monokuma giggled, covering his mouth with his paws. "Are you excited to see who's being punished?"

Kaito went to open his mouth, to growl and holler. Koba saw his muscles tense, the soft look disappearing into something harsh for a moment when he was suddenly cut short by what he saw.

Monokuma moved to the side, Showing Kazuichi trapped in a small room. The teacher was in an elevator, slowly taking him lower into the school. Tears streamed down the teacher's face as he panicked, trying to tug one of the mechanical walls open.

Kaito looked confused for a moment but he instantly shut up. Koba swore he'd never seen someone change expressions that fast. He looked concerned but not nearly as worried as he had been.

"Sensei!" Sato jumped, both her and Niijima looking startled. "What the hell is going on?"

"Your beloved Sensei decided it was a good idea to bash me on the head with a frickin' bottle! So, I decided to use him as an example. I feel like you've all been pretty lax about obeying the rules. You all are constantly attempting to push my buttons. That's why your teacher's mistake will be his last. Today, you'll all see that no one can save you. Today you'll see that there is no hope for any of you."

"Th-This is horrible…" Niijima mumbled, hugging herself as she trembled. "I-I can't watch this…"

"Don't worry, I'll allow a few people to provide him with a slim chance to live, but it's all up to him to listen. You all only get to watch and revel i- Wait! One of you is missing! Where's Himura?" Monokuma suddenly glared, gazing over the other students with an angry look. "That ugly, good for nothing, plan ruining, FU-"

"I'm right here." Himura suddenly stepped around the tv, glancing around before his eyes settled on the tv. "I was busy making a very complex cup of coffee when the buzzer went off… sadly I didn't even get to enjoy it before I had to rush on over. Now it's going to be cold when I get back… how sad."

"...Anyways! Enjoy the show! I'm going to inform the teachers first, then I'll be back to grab one of you to assist, so make sure you have your designated helper by then. Anyways, enjoy the show, kiddos!" The screen changed, going to an image of a pixel Monokuma dragging Souda behind him. Silence fell over the group but most eyes turned to Sato and Niijima, the two looked as if they'd been set up for punishment.

Koba felt the need to do something, a desire to help his friends at this moment. To reach out and offer his friendship. But would that even help? He doubted his own abilities to assist his friends in this trying time. But he felt it again, the warmth in his chest that pushed him forward. Gently, he put a hand on both of their shoulders, both of the girls a lot taller than him, though Niijima was a bit shorter without her usual platform boots.

"Yo, it's gonna be 'ight. Did you hear what he said? We have a chance to help him… so if we stick together he can make it out alive." Koba watched their faces, trying to catch the moment his words hit their ears. Niijima looked away, hugging herself gently. But Sato perked up, clenching her fist.

"You're right… YOU'RE SO RIGHT!" Tears formed in the corner of Sato's eyes before she violently shook her head to break them free. "Souda-Sensei has always been there for me, he's helped me, even if he wasn't trying too! I CAN'T GIVE UP! NOT YET!"

"Together, we can do this! Right Koba?" Sato looked at him, hope beaming in her eyes. Soon, it was apparent that everyone was looking at him, eyes wide as they waited for what they had to say. For a moment, he made eye contact with Himura. The barista gave a slight shrug.

"I think we can do anything together." Koba said, clenching his fists in excitement. "I think we can stop Monokuma! And I think we can save Souda!"

A loud, frightening sound was heard for a moment when the tv screen suddenly flashed back on. Monokuma reappearing for a moment to look over the students. His eye glowing in the dark office where he resided.

"Alright, one of you can go to assist. Who is gonna-"

"I am!" Sato spoke up, taking a step away from Niijima and towards the danger. "I want to help Souda-Sensei."

"Alright." Monokuma shrugged, unimpressed by her sheer determination. "Head down to the elevator. There you'll head down to the trial grounds."

With that, Monokuma's screen shut down, going back to the previous loading screen as they all waited for the results. Koba could feel a knot in his chest from the anxiety of everything that was going on, but he imagined it was all so much worse for Sato right now.

"Good luck." Iris said, gently touching the racers arm.

"I know you'll be able to handle this." Bellerose said, her body language was cut off but her voice was comforting. "Just remember to stay calm and do whatever it takes to get Souda out safely."

Sato gave a big nod, letting out a big breath as she went to exit the gym. She was brave, braver than Koba could ever hope to be. He wondered if he was put in the same situation if he'd be able to handle it in strides like the racer. If he would be able to stand up like that in a time he was so full of fear and doubt. One day he wanted to be just as brave as all of his friends.

"I'll see you all when I come back." Sato promised, looking over everyone with a determined smile. "And when I come back, I'll have Souda-Sensei with me!"

When she left… the room was quiet. Worried silence filled the room as they were all unsure what to say. Most of them looked back towards the screen, trying to find some kind of object to distract themselves from the nightmare that was about to devour them. The silence was broken for a moment as Sweeney let out a slow, gentle sigh.

"God I hope she doesn't fuck this up."

* * *

The teachers had all gathered inside the video room by now. Hajime and Komaeda were whispering about something yet Gundam didn't feel the need to intrude. Right now, his gut was twisting into knots so tight he was unsure if they'd ever come undone. He let out a long, deep sigh as he felt the soft presence of the hamsters against his neck. Taking a deep breath, he worked to compose himself. To gather all of his thoughts and work on a way to change the outlook on their current situation.

Panicking would not help them. But neither would having an overly positive outlook on this entire situation. Right now, all Gundam could think of was how _stupid_ Kazuichi was for attacking Monokuma. What kind of _idiot_ attacks him in such a manner. He knew the mechanic had seen first hand what happens when one tries to duel the mastermind. Gundam took a moment, thinking back to the incident with Akane and Nekomaru. How could he forget that incident so easily.

Yet Gundam was a fool as well to put all of his blame on Souda. Being back inside of another killing game was torture. He felt the want to snap and fight back every moment he was hear. Every time he heard that bear speak he wanted to summon every ounce of black magic within his body to destroy the evil that lurked behind that cuddly mask.

Plus, he should have been more prepared for something like this. Kazuichi had always been a fool. Impulsive with both his behaviors and his words, Souda almost never thought through his actions before performing them. And now it had finally gotten him into trouble.

Gundam was deep in thought when the monitors in the room lit up. Monokuma bearing his ugly mug for the group to see once again. At this very moment, Gundam wished he could permanently vanquish the beast. To destroy him in one final battle and keep the rest of the students safe from his dark grasp.

"Sorry to keep you waiting but I had to prep the children." Monokuma joked as his body trembled with laughter. "Don't want to keep them in the dark for too long."

"I want to make another deal, Monokuma." Komaeda said, taking a step towards the screen. Gundam noticed Hajime try to grab his wrist and pull him back but the teacher worked his way forward anyways. "I would like to offer my life instead of Souda's."

"Puhuhuhuhu! As much as I'd loooooove to grind those frail bones of yours Nagito that wouldn't be an option. I can't kill you! Plus it'll be a waste in the long run since the cancer will kill you soon enough." Monokuma dismissed Komaeda with a wave of his hand. "Souda, on the other hand, is healthy and has so many years left on his plate… well _had!_ BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I can't wait to crush him into bits!"

"You said this was a game, correct? A game requires a chance for the other side to win, right?" Komaeda spoke again as he gently pressed his fingers to his forehead.

"Well, you got me." Monokuma laughed before bouncing in his seat. "There is a way you can win, but I can only have three players. One is Souda, then one teacher who wants to play plus one of his beloved students."

"Then I volunteer." Gundam took a step, walking around Komaeda with a long stride.

"Gundam are you sure, we don't even know what you have to do yet." Hajime objected for a moment. "You could be putting yourself in danger."

"We shall not shy away at the slightest signal of death. I am Gundam Tanaka, Dark Lord of Hell and I shall not let you take my friend from me!" Gundam spat, his fists clenched as he readied himself. Whatever Monokuma had up his sleeve, Tanaka was ready.

"Don't get too worked up, the only ones who'll get hurt physically is Souda. Though his life will rest in your hands." Monokuma giggled more, as if this was the best joke he'd ever been told. "Now, whenever you're ready go ahead and head to the trail grounds, M'kay?"

The screen shut off before anyone could respond. The mastermind was such a coward as he forced his last words onto everyone. He ran from any challenge and hid behind his powerful, twisted machines in order to manipulate their destiny. The bear seemed certain that Kazuichi would die tonight and Tanaka would be a liar if he didn't admit the fear he felt from the idea. It made his entire body want to tremble in fear, yet, he resisted. He quietly pulled his scarf over his mouth, obscuring half of his face as he turned and headed for the elevator.

"Good luck, Gundam…" Hajime said after him, his words like a final breeze that followed him out to the hall.

He took long strides down the hall. An empty feeling surrounded the halls. Silent except for the soft sounds of his hamsters nestled in his scarf. Yet even they were tense, afraid of what would happen next. Gundam clenched his fist, remembering back to his own trial. The devastating feeling of it all… and how he was able to wake back up afterwards. That was one of the biggest surprises present during that killing trip. The fact that he had died and came back. While that was truly a gift, if Souda died here, he wouldn't get another chance. A heavy responsibility weighed over him, like a cloud of thick energy that threatened to surround and suffocate him.

When he arrived at the elevator he was surprised to see he wasn't the first one there. Yet, all in the same moment, he wasn't surprised to see this student here to defend her teacher. She always seemed glued to Souda's side, even bearing physical similarities to the teacher. Sato was like a taller, smarter, less greasy version of her teacher and trailed after him like a shadow. So seeing her here to defend that teacher was what Gundam had expected.

They both entered the elevator in silence. While Gundam had expected her help, she seemed confused by his presence. Maybe she felt the inner core of his power. The darkness must have been rolling off of him in waves, maybe she just sensed it in this moment. But just like Souda, she was horrible at hiding her feelings.

A moment of silence followed them. Gundam caught occasional glances from Sato, her eyes darting down that back towards the door. She wanted to speak but… something was keeping that loud mouth of hers closed. Seemed she had more self control that Kazuichi, he would have blurted out what he was thinking by no-

"Why are you here? I expected Hinata or Naegi or even Komaeda-San, But not you." Sato huffed, crossing her arms tight across her chest as she looked down at the teacher. "Don't you hate Souda-Sensei? Can you even help? *Gasp* You're not going to try and sabotage him, are you? If you try to make him lose on purpose I swear I'll end -"

"Silence! You speak more than Kazuichi! Rattling on about nonsense and theories without any proof! Souda and my relationship is complicated and while sometimes he drives me mad, I do not wish his life to end." Gundam lifted up a hand, slowly letting his hand cover his face as he spoke. "An immortal being like me has made the horrible mistake of accepting mortals who I would dare call friends."

"You talk weird." Sato mumbled, looking nervous as she went to fidget with the zipper of her jumpsuit. "But I won't let Souda die either… I… everything's so weird here. Every memory I get back, I get another dream of us spending time together. He's… a freak. A huge weirdo… but he's like me. People don't like us and they never did. He understands what it's liked to be judged before anyone really knows you. And from all of those dreams, those-lost memories, I've learned that he's the closest thing I've ever had to family."

Gundam hadn't expected this, but she had started to cry. Soft at first, gentle tears rolling down her cheek. But when her voice broke on the word _family_ her composure dropped. A dam broke as tears rolled down her entire face in heavy drops. She hugged herself tight, trembling for a moment. "I can't let him leave me like this…"

"Why are you telling me this?" Gundam asked, though he was more curious for her reasons of opening up to him like this.

"I don't know. I-I think it's because I'm scared." Sato sniffled, wiping more tears from her face. "I came from such a big family and-and I always blended into the background. I-I remember stealing the car a lot, driving away from them. L-last trial I-I got back a memory and-and-"

She sobbed more, making Gundam more unsure of what to do. Taking a long, deep breath, he turned to her, bellowing out a exaggerated cackle.

"Foolish mortal. You obviously have little understanding of who I really am. I am the great Gundam Tanaka. My powers are unmatched and defeating me in battle is an impossible task! Monokuma made a grave mistake tonight. With my assistance we are guaranteed to conquer the coward behind that weak stuffed toy!"

Sato paused, sniffling one last time before letting out a laugh. First it was filtered with small hiccups and cracks from her tears but soon it became one filled with strength. "Souda-Sensei was right! You do talk funny! But you're right! We can't give up yet especially when we haven't even started yet. Let's do this! I'm ready!"

They both seemed more prepared as the doors finally opened to the trial room. Kazuichi wasn't anywhere in sight, nor was anything that would give away what they'd be doing down here. Near the wall, a giant tv appeared, buzzing in the dark room around them. As they grew closer, they saw a pedestal rise from the ground, containing a confusing looking map and two small earpieces, just like in the trial. Both the teacher and the student picked one up, slowly putting it into their ears. The gesture seemed to activate everything else, since the monitor in front of them lit up to Souda, waiting silently in a cement like room. A dark, hollowed out doorway sat in his path, looking to be the only way the mechanic had to leave this first room.

"Goodness me, it's about time we get this game started." Monokuma huffed, leaning against the side of the monitor with a soft huff. "I was starting to get impatient and was even thinking about starting without you two."

"Shut up and tell us how we can help!" Sato shouted at the screen.

"Sato? Wh-where are you?" Souda suddenly moved, looking around the room.

"As you can now see," Monokuma started, forcing the camera to focus back onto him, "He can only hear you two. He's trapped inside a death maze, traps are laid out in every hall. In the room with you is a map. It contains every single trap that I have set up for your friend here. All you two have to do is tell him where to go and how to avoid them. Sounds easy enough, right?"

"Indeed." Gundam mumbled as he looked over the map on the pedestal near the tv. It was a solid, bright green color which made the important objects even easier to notice. Silence fell over him as he tried to quickly absorb all the information in front of him. The traps that were laid out, however, were not as clear as he'd have liked. The map was on its own glass screen. Tapping one of the dots would give a vague description of what laid ahead of them. A small, Souda like pixel was animated on the screen. Showing exactly where the teacher was on the map. "Listen to us Kazuichi. Together we shall escort you from this death trap."

"Yeah teach! Don't you worry! We've got your back. Now head through that door and listen closely to us!" Sato cheered, trying to sound confident as she wished to lead her teacher forward.

"N-no!" Souda was practically sobbing as he stepped away from the door. Shaking as he seemed to only panic further. "If I don't participate in this stupid game I'll be fine! H-He'll get bored and let me go."

Before either of the two could respond, a loud, mechanical sound filled the room. Filling the air as it seemed to beam from the monitor. The stone walls groaned as the wall slowly started to close in on him. Slowly pushing Souda towards the entrance to the maze.

"N-No! NOOOOOO YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!" Souda tried to push the wall back. To try and stop the wall from forcing him through the door.

"Sorry Kazuichi but there's no way you're getting around this!" The screen in front of them flashed as it showed a new view of the hallway the teacher was now in. The screen on the pedestal warped into a pixel like game map as Kazuichi was finally forced through the door, giving the teacher a small sprite near the entrance. The room went completely dark except for the screens, leaving them alone with this game as Monokuma's voice hovered above them. "Get ready everyone! It's time for our **Super Fun Killing Mini Game** to start!"

 **Killing Mini Game: The Mechanical Maze**

 **Participant: Kazuichi Souda**

 _Souda stumbled into the hall. He could feel the sweat rolling down his head as he tried to gain some kind of composure. His hands were shaky as he looked around. Already there was a fork in his path. Swallowing hard, he tried to decide which way to go._

 _He remembered the rules. The words that had been spat out at him in a rush. The rules had been simple enough. He just had to work his way through this maze. Avoid all of the traps laid out for him to stumble into and get out through the other side in less than seven minutes, otherwise poison gas would fill the halls and kill him instantly. Kazuichi had yet to start but he already felt like giving up as his mind raced, trying to find a way out of this death machine._

" _Souda-Sensei! Can you hear me?" Sato's voice buzzed in his ear, pulling him back into his current situation. "You want to go right! And once you turn around the corner, make sure you duck the second you get around."_

" _A-Are you sure?" Souda asked, his voice shaking as he headed towards the directed turn. He had to hurry, he had no idea how long this tunnel was._

" _The other path has a pit of death." Gundam spoke next as he tried to reassure his co worker. "This path seems like the easiest way to avoid death."_

 _Souda grumbled as he hurried around the corner. The fear tightened inside of his chest. It was slowly rising up his throat, threatening to choke him as he continued through this messed up game. The fear clouded his mind as it almost caused him to forget to -_

" _ **Kazuichi get down**_ _!"_

 _Gundam's voice in his ear was just enough to remind him to duck. He felt the tug as a giant axe swung down. Sharp metal that barely missed crushing his skull, instead it grabbed his hat, tossing it towards the back wall as the mechanic stumbled forward. The fear of death suddenly peaked, becoming even more intense than before. His heart felt like it was going to pop as it raced._

" _You need to listen to us!" Gundam spoke over communicator again, his voice sounding more stern than usual. "We are here to assist you. You'll die if you do this on your own."_

 _Kazuichi swallowed, continuing to almost jog through the hall in front of him to the next turn. "It doesn't matter what I do, I-I'm gonna die either way!"_

" _Don't talk like that! If we work together we can get you through this!" Sato yelled back._

 _She sounded confident that he could live through all of these traps. Souda tried hard not to look back at the trap that had almost split his head in half. It had stole his hat right off his head, probably tearing it into shreds. His tangled mess of hair falling down into his face._

" _Up ahead, you need to take a hard left. But you need to be prepared to stand against the nearest wall." Gundam explained. The deep voice bounced around Souda's head, barely sticking before he darted around the nearest corner._

" _No! Not that one!"_

 _The words rang in too late. There was only a small moment before quick, sharp pains covered his body. It was hard to comprehend the source of the attack. He fell against the wall for a moment, moving to rip some of the-the_ _ **things**_ _protruding from his body. Only to hear more cries for him to stop. But he had to get them out, they_ _ **hurt**_ _._

 _Finally pulling one free left more blood to pour from the wound. An even sharper, more intense pain shot through him. His hand shook as he quickly moved to the other, ripping the second from his body. More blood splattered out, dripping to the floor in thick drops. Metal clanged against the ground as the thick, metal spike that was lodged in his chest hit the ground. Drenched in that highlighter pink liquid. He almost felt like he was going to vomit from it all the_ _ **pain**_ _when he heard Monokuma's voice blast over the speakers._

" _Puhuhuhu! Our first thing of blood has been spilled! But don't worry, they'll be more where that came from!" The speakers buzzed with the sound. His head spinning from a mix of pain, fear, and anger. But as he tried to focus, suddenly the walls lit up. The display around him changed. He could feel his own mental barriers fall. Everything felt like it was coming undone, all at once. "But how about we make this more interesting? Too bad only our dear Kazuichi can see it, but it should definitely make this game more fun for me!"_

" _You must not falter here, Souda. There's more to conquer if we wish to save your life." Gundam's voice rang in his ear, but it didn't match what he saw… All of his friends. The only friends he'd ever had in his life were there, watching him for a moment. A flash before they faded from his view. Something was wrong, more than before._

" _Why aren't you moving?" Sato asked. Her voice rang in his ears. An alarm waking him up from his daze as he stumbled forward._

" _I thought I saw something." Souda mumbled, waiting for the next directions to be delivered to him._

 _He was able to make it through a few traps without any fatal problems. It felt as if this game was lasting for ages. That this twisting halls would never end. Blood was still dripping from his chest, droplets splashing onto the ground, leaving a trail as he wandered through the maze. He got through most of the traps. Hopping over stones, scaling pits of spikes and avoiding more projectiles. The voices in his ears kept him going. Told him where to go. For a moment, he absorbed it, felt that maybe it all wasn't over. He wasn't sure if the hope came from them or the lack of blood in his body._

" _We're almost halfway through, Sensei!" Sato shouted over the line. "Take another left, teach!"_

 _Souda followed the instructions. Ready to move out of the way of whatever wanted to kill him around this corner._

" _This one is dangerous, Kazuichi. You have to hurry across, if you stop you'll-" Kazuichi hurried over the dark shadow over the floor, he was about to pass over it when-_

" _ **Out of everyone, you were supposed to protect me.**_ " _There was a flicker, a sudden appearance in front of him. Blood dripping down the thick, muscled throat of the deceased Sugai. "_ _ **I did all I could to help you. But I guess even I can't help a pathetic, waste of space like you**_ _."_

 _Souda stumbled back, he didn't even hear the creaking of metal above him as he stumbled backwards. Away from the phantom like figure that stood at the end of this trap._

" _ **And now you're not even brave enough to face me. I don't even know why I believed in ya at all, pal.**_ "

 _Souda took another step back, causing him to trip over his own feet. He fell back, hitting hard against the cement ground beneath him. The words were caught in his throat. The hope vanished from his chest, leaving every inch of his body. While his body trembled, the trap went off, bringing down a heavy chunk of metal down on Souda._

 _He didn't even feel the pain first. He heard the sickening crunch that echoed in his brain and the pop of whatever was caught. His vision spun, only focusing on the thick, gushing blood that flowed from beneath the trap. A river of blood. He felt his hands reach out first, slowly trying to pry the metal up off the ground. The salty tears swelled up in the corner of his eyes. Dripping down to create ripples in the pool of blood below him. He didn't even consciously know what was trapped right away. He just knew he had to free the limb that had now been smashed into a ragged remnant of what it should be._

 _The metal slab slowly rose off the ground. A mangled mess of flesh and bones stuck to the bottom, lifting up with ut until it smacked down on the ground with a disgusting plop. The bone had gone through the flesh in places. The sight made Souda feel nauseous. Seeing the mangled of his leg made the shock ware off. The sudden, overwhelming burst of pain made him cry out. More tears gathering in his eyes as he hurriedly tried to escape the reality of his mutilated leg._

 _He was able to drag himself back. Away from the pool of blood and flesh to a wall far behind. It seemed like the bleeding would never stop. A long, heavy river of blood seemed to follow Kazuichi from the initial attack to what felt like his final resting place._

" _Souda! KAZUICHI! Can you move? We need to keep going!"_

" _Sensei! You're almost out! Just a little bit longer!"_

 _They both called out to him, begging him to keep going, but why? He wasn't worth it. A waste of flesh as it was. He slowly took the mic out of his ear, looking at it as he could hear their voices calling through the device. The hum of their calls and please made the small piece of plastic vibrate in his hand._

 _In this heightened moment of self pity and pain so high it made every thought knot together in a mess of tangled strings, he couldn't help but admire the tech behind such a small device. He could easily see how it worked and even how he could make one of his own. Hell, at this moment, he wouldn't have been surprised if his own hands had put this little device together._

" _Souda please! You have to keep going." He barely could hear Sato's voice over the line. Her last plea for him to continue._

" _ **You should do every one of us a favor and surrender**_ _." Gundam's voice was clearer than the microphone now. Close, almost as if the voice was directly next to him. He could barely see the figure of his friend next to him, looking down on him as they always did. A shadow cast over him like the lid to his coffin. "_ _ **Do us all a favor and die.**_ "

" _Everything would be easier if I was dead…" Souda mumbled, looking up to see more of his friends slowly appear. Was it right to even call them his friends… it always felt as if they were friends with each other and he was just mooching off of their joy._

" _ **Things would definitely be better if you were gone!**_ " _Sonia giggled as she spoke, almost as if the idea excited her. "_ _ **Sure, you've gotten better over the years but you're still such a joke**_ _."_

" _ **This is your chance.**_ " _Nekomaru laughed, his thick muscles rippling under his skin. "_ _ **If you die here no one can blame you for failing this impossible game!**_ "

" _ **Surrender yourself, Kazuichi,**_ " _It felt as if Gundam's eyes flashed in the now spinning room, "_ _ **Give up for good this time.**_ "

" _O-Okay… I choose death…" Souda let the mic drop from his hand, rolling across the ground of his grave as he stared up at his friend._

" _ **Good… now wait right here… with me.**_ "

* * *

The students in the gym quietly watched the horror show. They had just seen the spike lodge itself into Kazuichi's chest when Monokuma waddled up next to them. Koba had barely noticed the bear until it pushed itself to the front to watch.

"Don't you have a better place to enjoy your torture porn?" Bellerose turned on him, noticing the bear just as Koba did.

"Well, someone has to keep an eye on you guys and make sure you're behaving!" Monokuma growled back, raising a fist at the remark. "So don't question my actions!"

"That's stupid! Where are we gonna go?" Iris asked next.

"Anywhere in the school, we don't lock the gym door. I gotta make sure you all watch the damn game." Monokuma shot back.

"Gross…" Himura mumbled to himself. A cup of coffee suddenly in his hands. Had that been there before or had he just now scooped that up? Where could he have gotten a cup of coffee in here?

"Well, I'm tired of standing. These heels are killing my feet. " Kaito yawned as he dragged over one of the chairs scattered around the room. Pausing, he looked at Himura. "Did you want a seat, babe?"

"Wha- Oh, no thanks." Himura waved him off, taking another sip of his coffee. "I'm fine standing."

"Suit yourself baby." Kaito smiled as he plopped down in the chair, crossing his slender legs over each other before using one of his hands to fan himself.

Koba was surprised that everyone's eyes seemed to have moved to the scene behind them, away from the actual screen and focusing on the murderous bear behind them. Except Niijima, who kept her eyes glued to the screen, seemingly ignoring everyone behind her.

"Monokuma… can I be excused to use the restroom?" Iris asked gently, raising her hand like she was in school.

"What? No! Just wait! The game won't take much longer." Monokuma mumbled, sounding more annoyed than angry at all of this. "It'll be less than five minutes at this point! Can't you wait?"

"I guess…" Iris mumbled, sighing as she rubbed her neck.

"Don't be a jerk! If she needs to go she shouldn't have to wait around here all day!" Koba jumped at the chance to help out Iris.

"Yeah! Don't keep her trapped in here!" Bellerose yelled next, jumping in at the chance of an argument.

"Fine! Whatever. Not like you're going to miss anything important. But you have less than a minute and then you better be right back here. No hiding in there." Monokuma warned, though he sounded more like an irritated preschool teacher than a murderer who trapped a ton of kids inside of a school.

Iris nodded before running off. Leaving them all with one less student in the gym. Koba let out a long, drawn out sigh, silently wishing this thing could be over. He looked back at the screen just in time to see their teacher dodge out of the way of one of the traps.

"What do you mean nothing important will happen?" Himura's voice was suddenly brought forward, his eyes narrow as he watched the bear closely.

"U H G! You always weasel words out of me! Does it ever get boring being this annoying? Souda is just being used to show the other teachers not to mess with us! To show them their not exempt from punishment." Monokuma sighed, rubbing his head as he turned back to the screen. "He'll get out without anything horrible happening to hi-"

They all heard it, the sickening crunch of bones and the sound of flesh ripping from place. The sound was mixed with the horrified scream that sounded from Niijima as she stumbled away from the screen. Falling backwards. Koba barely noticed as her mechanical prosthetic tried to catch her, only to hear the crunch of metal as she fell backwards.

But Koba's eyes were mainly stuck on the screen. So much blood had been splattered across the dark walls like some kind of horror show. It made Koba's head spin. His vision blurry as he tried to locate why the thing looked so damn familiar. He felt like he was going to throw up and pass out all at once. His head spinning, he stumbled back a few steps.

He couldn't help but notice Monokuma had gone silent. Usually the thing would be filled with menacing laughter. Pure joy at seeing such bloodshed. But instead, he was quiet. His eyes staring at the horrible scene as the teacher dragged his bleeding body away from the wall. They all watched in horror as he gave up… as he just… sat there.

It felt like ages passed before anyone spoke. All of them were afraid of what was going to happen. Maybe if they stayed quiet they'd all wake up from this horrible nightmare. At this point they all should know that this isn't how this place works.

Koba couldn't stay quiet any longer. He felt his muscles clench. He had to do something. "If he doesn't get up soon, he'll die!"

"That's only if he isn't dying of blood loss right now. His leg is completely mangled, there's no way he can go anywhere." Bellerose sighed, her voice sounding as if they'd all just been cornered. "There's nothing we can do."

Koba felt his throat go dry. He tried hard to think of something, ANYTHING that could give him an opening to helping his teacher. And yet, he still came up with nothing. "Well then I'm gonna-!"

"He's cheating!"

A screech sounded from the center of the group. Everyone twisted their heads to look at the bear after he uttered that horrible sound.

"He's not allowed to cheat!"

"Hey! DON'T TOUCH THAT!"

"Give me the controls NOW!"

Everyone stared down in confusion, it seemed as if the bear was having a conversation with… itself? But how could something like that be possible. Suddenly, the bear started to jerk around, doing the strangest dance Koba had ever seen.

"He's gonna learn not to cheat! He's making this game unfair!" suddenly the bear shifted, looking angry as he glared at the screen. "It's time to enable Player 2! Time to make this game more fair!"

A loud, 8-bit sound activated through the monitor. Everyone turned to see why, only to see the screen had turned a brilliant pink with fancy, green letters.

 **Player 2 has joined the game!**

Everyone stared at the screen, wondering what exactly was happening right now. And what could this additional player accomplish. Koba swallowed, staring at the Monokuma with a confused stare. What was even going on anymore?

"Who are you?" Himura asked, looking down at the bear with the same puzzled look.

"Well I'm Monomi of course!" The Monokuma cooed with his paws pressed to his cheeks. "And I don't like this game anymore!"

* * *

 _Souda took another ragged breath as he felt his eyelids grow heavy. Even know, he'd never thought he'd go out like this. Yet, the mechanic had never really thought of how he'd die. Just his growing fear of it all. The intense pain in his body caused him to go numb, almost as if his entire body had just given up. Those faces around him, they were still there. Each of them waiting for him to die with a smile on their faces._

 _Part of him wondered if they were real. If his friends had broken into the trap just to watch him die. Or were they parts of his brain as it slowly died, showing him how he felt about himself. Images representing how much he hated his own existence._

" _Good Night, Souda!"_

" _Not gonna miss ya one bit so don't worry!"_

" _What a waste of talent…"_

" _What a waste of flesh!"_

 _He could hear them all laugh. Another breath escaping him. Each time he wondered if it would be his last. Quietly wishing he could savor it instead of swallowing the heavy blood filled hair. The metal like taste sticking to his tongue._

 _Everyone was here… everyone except one person. The friend they had lost so long ago… he didn't want to think about it but this maze was a lot like the one Chiaki had to go through. The event that had brought them to despair. Weird that Junko would use such a similar set up. With a ragged breath, he wondered if Chiaki would hate him just as much as the rest of their friends._

 _He paused for just a moment. He saw the few screens in the room flicker. Lighting up with a happy, 8-bit ding that sounded extremely familiar to him. He looked around, seeing as everyone around him started to flicker._

" _Wh-What is going on here?!" The Gundam growled before vanishing from sight. "That bit-"_

 _The words_ **Player 2 has joined the game!** _Showed on the screen. He had no idea what it could mean, but he didn't care… whatever it was it didn't matter at this point. He was going to die._

" _Kazuchi… you're not really giving up that easily are you?"_

 _That voice. It had been a long time since he had heard it but there was no mistaking it's owner. He doubted it, though. It was impossible. But yet when he looked forward again, he saw her there. Standing over him with that tired look she always carried. There she was, Chiaki Nanami, glowing almost like some kind of angel._

" _I'm not giving up… it's just what everyone else wants me to do." Souda mumbled, suddenly unable to look her in the face. Ashamed of who he was in every degree. "Nobody wants me here anymore."_

" _Souda… none of those were your friends. I need you to think past what you saw and think back to what you_ _ **know**_ _. Gundam was just trying to help you. He wants you to live. Just like everyone else."_

" _But they-"_

" _No. You need to remember. Remember your friends and the time you all have spent together. You know, deep inside, that none of them hate you. Now, I need you to be strong. Please."_

 _Souda swallowed hard. He felt something slowly sprouting inside of his chest. It felt almost like a small blossom that had begun to bloom. But it was slowly swallowing him back up. "It doesn't matter if I have the will to live… There's no way I can walk on this leg."_

" _That's why I brought you help." Souda felt himself being helped to his feet. The stuffed hands of Monomi was helping him get to his feet. Seeing that stuffed rabbit again made this all feel even more like a dream. Some last minute hallucination caused by the lack of blood in his body._

 _Monomi somehow lifted him up enough he could balance on his remaining leg. Without his full weight on the mangled piece of flesh he might actually be able to get out of this place._

" _We have to hurry." Chiaki said as she started to guide him through the hall. "We've stalled the traps and the system, so they'll be offline for awhile. But we have to hurry because we can't hold them for long."_

" _Who are they?" Souda asked as he quickly limped after Chiaki._

" _I… cannot tell you. It's against the small amount of programing I have to tell you… plus I don't believe saying their name would help you at all."_

" _But how could their name not be helpful?" Souda asked, though he couldn't help but notice the disabled traps that clicked as they walked past. Souda wasn't sure if it was due to the fuzzy, lightheaded feeling that tingled his entire body, but the room looked different. The walls were a soft pink, almost reminding him of some kind of child's play room. He even swore he heard kiddie music playing._

 _Souda took a step on the mangled flesh of a leg only to let out a loud yelp of pain. Whatever had stunted the blunt of the pain had worn off. Every movement suddenly became overwhelming. It shot horrible pains through his entire body._

 _He could feel his steps get slower. Everything felt weaker, no matter how close he was getting to the end it wouldn't matter if he couldn't make it. He felt as if he was going to pass out. He didn't have a long time left before all these efforts would be wasted._

 _For a moment, Kazuichi saw it all flicker. Chiaki's image faltering before him. It was almost like a small glitch in a television screen. With it, he felt a pained cough erupted from his chest._

" _He's getting through! We're almost out, just a little further." Chiaki's voice filled the air around him. A warning he didn't know if he could really prepare himself for._

" _I-I can't. .. do this…much...longer." Souda's breath was ragged at this point. It felt as if one of these might really he his last breath._

" _You can make it. Look! There's the exit, you're almost th-th-th-therrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-rrrrrr." Towards the end, the image flickered more. Vanishing for a whole second as her voice wavered. It seemed as if she might have fixed herself before she completely vanished. The walls returned to their bleak appearance, the soft, warm feeling that was in the room had suddenly vanished._

" _Oh no! He got back sooner that I thought!" Monomi whimpered as she picked up the pace._

 _Souda tried to keep up with the new pace but at this point the pain was hard to tolerate. It felt like his bones were still splitting apart inside of his flesh. Sharp pains blasting through his body. But soon he saw the exit closing in. A door that seemed to call his name. It was the final way out of this place. Just seeing that chance to escape gave him hope. There was the chance to live. The idea of living after all of this fueled him forward._

 _When he finally broke through the door he could hear the sound of something releasing. The sound of another trap being set off. He didn't have the energy to react. Hell, he didn't even have the consciousness to see what it was. He just felt his body falling through the air. Hitting the cold, stone floor before his entire vision faded into a black pit of emptiness. Now matter what just happened, this game was over._

* * *

Gundam was unsure of how to react when the screen was suddenly blocked. They could no longer see what was going on in the maze, nor could they see what was happening with Kazuichi. Someone was blocking the feed from the cameras.

At first, Gundam was worried. If they couldn't see what was happening, how could they help his friend. But then, something else struck him. This was a good sign.

The cameras had always been used to spread despair. Outlets for the dark emotion to trickle out to those who would watch. The mastermind would never willingly turn them off. Whoever was behind this loved to show what carnage and destruction they were causing. Even if Kazuichi had sat there, slowly bleeding out to death, the mastermind still would have showed it.

This was a sign someone was working against Monokuma.

"Yo! Goth guy, take a look at the map!" Sato called, making Gundam whirl around to look at the map that had been laid out for them. Her finger pointed out the small, pixel that had represented Souda.

The first thing he noticed was the entire map had turned a bright pink, matching the color of the hacked screen. The second thing that grabbed his attention was that the sprite that was meant to represent Souda was moving once again. Almost just as fast as before. But he noticed Sato point to right in front of their friend. A pixel of what looked like a girl with silver hair. Gundam almost couldn't believe his eyes when Sato asked -

"Yo, Tanaka, what's that supposed to be?"

Gundam wasn't sure how to answer. She had been dead for so long, it was impossible for it to be her, the real Chiaki Nanami. Even the computer AI meant to mimic her had been deleted in order to to prevent Junko from escaping back into the world. Yet someone had to be fighting back against the mastermind. Right now he was dumbfounded on what it meant to see her face on this screen.

"Contestant is approaching the finish line!" A pre recorded message played over a speaker nearby. Suddenly a part of the wall opened up, revealing a window and door. Peaking through they could see into the end of the maze. The final room just on the other side of the glass.

"He's going to make it!" Sato's face was already pressed against the glass as she tried to peer inside.

Pink light poured out from inside the room. Tinting the area with a calming light. Gundam felt his muscles tense. There was no way he'd know what was about to happen. This could all be some kind of trap from Monokuma. A joke to fill them with hope that their friend would be okay.

After a moment of these new lights, they suddenly switched off. They all heard the tv buzz behind them, suddenly showing the room where Monokuma sat. The bear looked flustered, huffing with annoyance as he fidgeted with what looked like camera controls.

"That dumb bitch thinks she can trick me? This game is over! I don't like it when people **fuck** withe **me**!" Monokuma snarled and slammed his hand down on a large, red button flashing in front of him.

Gundam barely saw it, Souda was practically tossed through the door like a rag doll. He held his breath as he saw the large, metal pole shoot from the farthest wall. It barely missed the limp mechanic as he crumbled onto the floor. The spike lodged itself into the wall right where Souda's chest would have been if he had made it through.

After the scene that had just unfolded, Gundam almost wasn't surprised to see the Monomi that waddled through the door, glancing at Souda before letting out a long sigh. The stuffed bunny looked over at Gundam, almost sweating through the fabric before running back into the maze. The second Monomi left, Monokuma appeared next to the two.

"Ha! In your face! He made it through! You can't let him die now! We WON!" Sato taunted the bear, even letting her tongue hang out of her mouth.

"U H G! He was supposed to die! It's so boring when they live!" Monokuma huffed, rubbing his paws violently against his head. "You idiots better get out of my face! Its bed time and now I'm pissed AND sleepy!"

"Do not throw a tantrum merely because you were defeated." Gundam remarked, glad to know this horrible game was over.

"Defeated? You ingrates were _lucky_. Go tell your friends that there will be a meeting tomorrow morning." Monokuma was practically hissing as he opened the door to retrieve Souda. "Your ugly ass rat man will be better by tomorrow. But keep in mind…"

Monokuma's voice dropped, sending a chilly feeling through the room. Whatever warmth was left, the suddenly eerie feeling the bear gave off sucked all of that out of the room. "Next time you won't be so lucky."

Gundam and Sato both turned to leave. A hollow victory when everything was reviewed. Sure, Souda was alive, but the teacher had taken an amazing amount of damage. Damage that might still cost him his life. Tanaka knew he should be glad his friend was okay, yet he found himself just more worried about him. Sighing, Gundam put these horrible, gut wrenching fears aside. At this very moment he was glad that his friend had lived.

Today felt like they had a chance to successfully show Monokuma they wouldn't go down without a fight.


	18. My Dear Chef

_There was a long, drawn out pause as they all waited in the small control room in silence. Everyone knew that they were in trouble this time._

" _Now you listen to me and you listen closely!" Monokuma paced back and forth, still extremely angry after the failed murder of the teacher. "We had a deal! If you try to show me up like that again you'll be the one on the execution block!"_

" _Of course, my love!"_

" _You're replaceable! Expendable! I can have a better you in moments!" Monokuma growled, pointing a paw at the shadowed figure._

" _Of course, my lord!"_

" _And keep in mind I can't do anything if your fellow students decide to kill you. They'll be figuring out who the traitor is soon enough." Monokuma gave another warning. The class had only recently discovered the fact that there was a traitor amongst them, and after this the evidence to figure it all out was there. All they needed was time in order to decipher the truth._

" **Is that all?"**

" _No! One last thing." Monokuma hissed his eyes scanning the room before he continued on. He must be worried that_ _ **she**_ _could hear him. "You better get that little brat under control or else I'll have to end her."_

" _But sire, we need her for the executions… if we lose her then we'll be stuck in quite the pickle."_

" _Idiots! Do you really think I don't have a backup plan? Tell her if she doesn't do what she's told and stay in her room that she's dead meat." Monokuma hissed in a harsh warning. "Is_ _ **this**_ _-" Monokuma paused, stopping his words to make a wide gesture over everything "-all clear?"_

" _Yessir."_

 _Monokuma shot a glare before groaning. "Now, let's get ready for the new motive. The kiddos should be waiting in the gym by now."_

* * *

Everyone rose early that morning. Dread was in the air, and with every breath it filtered into the students lungs and sat there, heavy. But until now when hadn't they spent every moment in this game filled with the overwhelming sense of fear that today would be their last? Himura felt it too, that constant feeling of despair that seemed to weigh down every step.

Quietly the students marched towards the gym. Well, everyone was quiet but Koba. Himura watched as he fell in line next to Sato. His skateboard tucked underneath his arm as he leaned over to talk to her. The racer looked especially glum, slumped over with rings as red as her hair under her eyes. Out of everyone she seemed like the one Koba should really leave alone.

"How are ya feelin'?" Koba asked.

"Bad…" Sato grumbled as she trailed off into uncharacteristic silence before quietly speaking up again. "Souda-Sensei really got messed up… he almost died because I wasn't any help. I don't even know if he's still alive. I'm so useless!"

"Did you get any memories back last night?" Koba asked, looking up at her with a weirdly gentle gaze.

"Well, no. But why does that matter?" Sato questioned, unsure of why any of that would matter.

"Well, I imagine if he biffed it ya woulda got sum mems, right?" Koba seemed to bounce as he finished his sentence, seeming more joyful than before. "So ya know, he's fine!"

There was a moment of pause. Sato looked as if she was considering his words, piecing them together quietly in her own mind. Than, like a spontaneous eruption, she was mimicking Koba's joy, almost like light reflecting from a mirror.

"You're right! He's gonna be completely fine! Aw Koba, you're the best!" Sato cheered. Koba held out his fist which Sato quickly pounded with her own. Koba had never looked so pleased and Himura considered the idea of him exploding.

The new energy seemed to leak over everyone. Himura could even feel the new spring in his step as he watched his friends cheer. Then, Himura saw Luna out of the corner of his eye. The seamstress looked suspicious as she eyed the two. However, when she noticed Himura's gaze, she gave a friendly wave and headed through the gym door.

Before Himura could enter himself, he felt Kaito move to his side. The tall, thin man gave a smile as he walked into the gym with him, side by side. Even as the few remaining students spread out inside of the room, Kaito remained close.

Inside the gym, only three of the teachers were there. Sure, it was obvious that Souda wouldn't be there but the fact that Komaeda was missing. The teacher's health had been on the decline recently but not being well enough to make it to a mandatory meeting was something else entirely.

"Where's Komaeda?" Koba asked, taking a few puzzled looks around the gym before looking back to Hajime.

"He's been getting sicker." The brown haired teacher admitted with a sigh. "I told him to stay in his room for now. Monokuma even said it was fine if he didn't come."

"I sure did!" Monokuma burst from the floor, hitting the ground and bouncing like some kind of ball. "No point in making a dead man walk, am I right?"

Silence fell over the crowd. It almost felt like a stand up comedian whose joke fell flat. After yesterday, no, after _everything_ , no one wanted to see that black and white bear ever again.

Monokuma cleared his throat, trying to reestablish himself over the crowd. "Anyways, the next motive is simple. One that all of you will understand clearly. Over your weeks here, you've all grown to know your beloved teachers. Whether it's through new memories or old ones, you've learned just how precious they are to you."

Where was he going with this? Himura saw Sato and Niijima tense up. To them this introduction must have sounded like a death sentence for their teacher. And as he looked at everyone's faces, he could tell most of them knew where this was going.

"So, in two days if no one dies, another teacher will be put through one of these Minigames!" Monokuma pulled a giant wheel from the ground, split into five different sections. Each one colored perfectly with each group color and the teacher's face plastered onto it. One slice for each teacher. "In two days, right after the morning announcement, I'll give this a good 'ol spin."

Monokuma spun the wheel, carnival music blared from it as he did. The sound of the wheel clicking on the pegs shot a spike of panic through the crowd. Slowly the wheel stopped on Hajime with a soft click.

"Whoever it lands on that morning will be dragged away for their special party!" Monokuma clapped his hands, shooting an emotionless glance at the teachers as he started to laugh. "So you better get to killin!"

"This is ridiculous!" Makoto took a step from the other teachers, he looked as if he was trying to cover up his worry but everyone could see through this shield. "Don't kill for us! Whatever Monokuma throws at us, we'll be okay. We have to show him we're not interested in his games!"

"You'd really throw away your own life for all of these ugly baboons?" Monokuma grumbled, Himura could almost _feel_ him rolling his eyes. "Well, I shouldn't be surprised. You always loved your _students_ more than anyone else!"

"Huh?" Naegi paused, looking up at Monokuma with a confused gaze.

"Anyways, you losers have fun! See you all next bloodshed!" Monokuma burst into laughter before bounding away. Disappearing as quickly as he had appeared.

"What do we do now?" Iris asked gently, hugging herself softly.

"We do the same thing we always do." Bellerose sighed, running her fingers through her hair with an unsatisfied look. "We wait until one of us decides to kill the other one. It's what happens every time. It's what'll happen again, too."

"Why are you always like this?" It was Sato who yelled this time. "What is wrong with you to make you _like this_? Always so cold and empty! Don't you know how to comfort friends? We all _know_ that'll probably happen but just for a second couldn't you pretend there's a chance it won't happen again?!"

"Sorry Sato, I'm a realist. I don't fantasize of what could be. Unlike you, I don't keep my head in the clouds." Bellerose sighed, sounding as if she was explaining something complicated to an upset child. "Someone like you would never understand."

"You're such a-a- a Bi-"

"Puhuhu! I realized I forgot something!" Monokuma had reappeared, but this time he was lugging something with him. "I figured you'd probably want this back. He was starting to stink up the back room anyways. Especially with all the tears and blood. Yuck!"

Monokuma tossed Souda off the stage, Gundam was barely able to grab him before he hit the floor. The teacher looked barely conscious. The bear had probably drugged the shit out of him.

"Well, have fun!" Monokuma left again, leaving Sato and Niijima to rush over to the limp body of their teacher.

Everyone waited in silence as the two ran over. It didn't take more than a second before Sato let out a loud, surprised gasp. "H-His leg! They cut off his leg."

"Makes sense. There probably wasn't a way to save it after the accident yesterday." Bellerose said, looking over to see the teacher.

"You stay away from him!" Sato growled, getting in the other girl's face as she tried to push her back. "None of us want your negative attitude making him sicker."

"Fine, whatever." Bellerose grumbled, pausing before adding. "Whoever cut his leg off knew what they were doing, though. Even from here I can tell those are perfectly done surgery marks."

"GO!" Sato practically snarled at the other girl as she tried to scare her off.

Bellerose turned and left, looking over the angry crowd with an almost a confused glance. She left the room in silence. Not another word coming from the chef's mouth.

"I'm gonna go check up on Belley." Koba said, bouncing from next to Himura and looking a bit concerned. "I want to make sure she's okay."

"Good luck." Kaito replied, chuckling as he waved. "A girl like that will eat you alive, Koba."

Koba chuckled, picking up his board and adjusting his hat. "Nah, she's not that mean."

With that, Koba walked out. Himura couldn't help but think about how goofy it looked to see a guy constantly carrying around his skateboard instead of riding it.

A moment passed before Himura realized something devastating. This motive must be so overwhelming for Kaito. Not only did the actor have to worry about his teacher but he had to worry about his father dying as well. Himura knew in that moment no matter what happened, he would be there for Kaito. He went to talk to him about it, offer him a shoulder to lean on, but Kaito beat him to speaking.

"So, did you ever read my secret?"

"Huh… oh, uh no! I have it with me though." Himura said, pulling the unopened envelope from his pocket.

"Goodness Himura. Now I'll never know what it says." Kaito chuckled, patting Himura's shoulder before looking around. "I know you want to go make sure Sato and them are okay. I'm gonna go update Komaeda on what's going on. Have fun with your friends, okay Hun Bun?"

"..H-Hun bun?" Himura stuttered, pausing as Kaito gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek and left the room. He stood still, shocked for a moment, but slowly shook it off. After all, Kaito was right unfortunately. It was time for him to go and check on his friends.

With a soft sigh, Himura walked over to the gathering group. At this very moment it seemed as if their main concern was that Kazuichi was actually _alive._

"Kazuichi, can you hear me?" Hajime questioned, leaning forward to look at his friend's glazed over eyes.

"Wh-when did I geeeet 'ere?" Souda's voice was weak. The teacher seemed to he having a hard time actually putting his words together. "How am I bak in da school?"

"The monochrome devil delivered you to us." Gundam answered, the teacher still holding the other. Himura couldn't help but wonder if the fact that he was missing a leg made him a lot lighter.

"Oh? I thought I was dead. I saw Chiki and Meekan. Sooo i figured I'd finally died." Souda chuckled, reaching up to gently pat Gundam's cheek. "But I guess I'm stuck wit u insted."

Hajime sighed, rubbing his head in relief before looking over everyone. "It looks like he's on a lot of pain meds, but he's going to he okay."

"Thank God!" Sato remarked, putting a hand to her chest in relief.

"We will escort him to his room. We'll let you all know when you can see him." Makoto instructed, pausing before leading the other two teachers back to the stairs.

"Himura, do you have a moment?" Luna had approached him, her eyes carefully scanning the room before she reached the Barista. "I need to talk to you."

"Sure thing, Luna." Himura was prepared to comfort his friends in any way they needed. But Luna seemed more cautious than normal. "What do you want to talk about."

"Meet me in the library in an hour. Come alone… okay?" Luna said gently, glancing around and leaving. "And don't head up until after an hour. I don't want to make it look like we're meeting."

* * *

It wasn't hard to find Bellerose. There was only one obvious place that would be the dark haired woman's safe place. Koba could hear loud music playing from the cafeteria as he took a step inside.

Koba had witnessed the chef at work a few times. How she worked when she was alone, carefully attending every dish with care. She worked fast, yet agile, and with immense grace. But right now was not one of those times. She aggressively stirred a pan that was burning with fire, anger covered over her pale face as she stared down at her work. Nothing seemed wrong with the cooking though, so Koba guessed whatever was going on with the fire was supposed to be happening.

"Why the hell did you follow me here?" Bellerose growled as she didn't even bother to give Koba a glance. "Wanna try and tell me I'm being rude and gruff?"

"No." Koba walked over to one of the counters as he watched her work. The intense look on Bellerose's face,her stern gaze as her hands quickly worked at the stove in front of her. It was both fascinating and scary to watch. "I just wanted ta make sure you're okay."

"Why? Afraid I might kill someone just because I'm not some happy go lucky fool li-"

"Nah, jus cus you're my friend." Koba let his grin spread over his face as he looked her over. "And ya seem like you're really upset."

"I am upset." Bellerose sighed. "I don't mean to say things like that… but it's dangerous to keep our head in the clouds. If we only look at the positive outcomes we won't be ready when something bad happens. We'll be completely blindsided, we have to stay realistic."

"Saying we're all going to die isn't realistic either." Koba moved to hop up on one of the counters.

"I wish I could believe that." Bellerose said with a frown as she stirred her pan. "positive thoughts like that always feel so forced to me."

"Why?"

"It's a long story. I don't know where to start." Bellerose let out another long sigh, moving to turn down the heat on the stove before putting the lid over the pan. "Have you ever visited America, Koba?"

"...No, I've never left Japan." Koba wondered where this line of questioning could even go. Was it some kind of distraction from her own current problems? "I don't think I've even left this city before. My family never really traveled."

"Well, then I guess this is even harder to explain." Bellerose groaned.

"What does America have to do with anything, aren't you French?"

"Yeah, I was born in France but I ran away when I was young… I wanted to start a new life somewhere else. Somewhere where no one would know who I was." Bellerose looked away, rubbing her neck as she spoke. "And so a young, optimistic Bellerose headed out to America."

"During the secret exchange, you said you grew up without a lot of food…" Koba remembered when they were all exchanging secrets. A moment passed when he thought back to a desperate image of Eguchi. Swallowing for a moment, he tried to focus back onto the friend he could still help.

"Yup, during the tragedy, my family didn't have a lot of food. It was another reason I left. That and my parents never… respected me. Either way, when I got to America, I was able to start anew. I got a job, a new home, and even got to pick my own name."

"So you picked the name Candi? It's a lot… sweeter of a name that I'd expect to come from you, no offense."

"None taken," Bellerose chuckled, a small smile actually showing on her face as she actually took Koba's compliment. "I picked that name when I was a lot younger. I thought it was a really cute girls name and even as i got older I didn't have the heart to change it. No matter what it was still better than Liam."

"Well I like Candi, I think it suites ya betta." Koba kicked his legs on the counter, finding it a little harder to sit still. "Bellerose sounds super professional and Kandi sounds sweet so both of them togetha is juss you!"

"Koba, you are something else." Bellerose chuckled before taking a long, deep breath as she got a quiet melancholy look that washed over her. "I never thought I would meet you in person… I owe you so much."

"Me? Why?" Koba was suddenly confused. Why would anyone owe him anything. He tried to think back on the events inside the school but he came up with nothing that would lead to the chef owing him anything.

"Let me answer your earlier question." Bellerose responded as she went to turn off the stove. "What makes me so cynical."

"O-Okay…"

"So, I moved to America. Got a job in a small, family restaurant. Working there I realized how much I loved cooking. The control it gave me over what I was making, the sounds, the power to make flavors no one else had ever thought of. Working for the little restaurant was fun, we were never very busy so I got to experiment a lot. They kind of let me do whatever I wanted. The owner was really nice, too. Everything was really great for about a year." She slowly scooped a bit onto a plate. It looked like some perfectly made stir fry before she reached over and handed it to Koba.

"Th-Then what happened?" Koba asked, gingerly taking the plate as he watched her.

"The American Food business kicked in. The owner was too nice and soon lost all the money he had saved up. I guess some rich asshole saw potential in the place and snatched it up. He offered me a job in his growing food chain and… well how could I turn his offer down. But working there was a lot different. We were busy every night and we were always understaffed. I usually had to run the entire kitchen myself. I had to create the menu, make almost all the dishes and work every day, open to close. They were always hiring new cooks to help me. But they were all ignorant assholes… I remember how I tried to be nice to them but they would just walk all over me… So, one day, I learned to put my foot down.

They taught me how to be aggressive. How to boss people around and always expect the worse. If I wasn't prepared the restaurant would get slammed and I would have more work to do. All the new people who came to work didn't respect the fact their boss was a women. Probably would have been even shittier to me if they knew more about me. Not to mention the fact that customers would send back perfectly good food just to try and get a discount. Some even had the nerve to try and fight me about how I was a horrible as a chef. They all thought they could push me around. But I didn't let them. I told them what to do, showed them who was boss, and forced them to respect me or get the hell outta my kitchen. And I told customers off, told them they didn't have any sense of taste. I worked hard every day, harder than anyone else. Because of me, the restaurant slowly became famous for the food.

But…in return cooking had slowly became a nightmare. I hated doing it. It always felt like a chore. I dreamt of opening my own restaurant once I got enough money, to create a place where my hard work would benefit me and not some rich douche. But it would take a few years to gather that kind of money, so all I could do was wait. During that time, no one knew how old I really was. I was just turning 14 when everything really started to hit the fan."

"Hit the fan…? 'Tuff got worse than that?" Koba took another big forkful of the food, marveling at how good it all tasted and tried not to let it distract him from the story.

"A lot worse. Well, first things got a little better before they got worse. They hired one of the older waitress's daughters as a busser. Her name was Sarah and she was about my age. Sarah was always willing to help anyone who needed it. She focused on the bright side, tried to make sure we could all see the wonderful world she thought we lived in. Anytime something went wrong she tried to help develop a solution. If we ran out of supplies she tried to help us find a replacement. When customers were mean she made me feel better, she even told me that I would get that restaurant one day, that _someone who worked as hard as me would have their dreams come true._ She was always positive… even to the end."

"Th-the end?" Koba swallowed. The end of what? Did she quit?

"She was diagnosed with cancer. They found out about it too late to do anything about it… she was dying and no one could stop it… but… then your cure came along. It was too late to _save_ her but, well, you know. You developed those three treatments. **The Cure, The Aftercare, and The Extension**. The cancer was killing her but she could still take the Extension. You let her live another 6 months with that. 6 months with lessened pain, kept her body running until she was ready to say goodbye."

"I'm so sorry." Koba felt his mouth go dry. He had heard plenty of stories of how his medicines had helped people. Of the lives saved and those that were extended. Families whose lives had been changed. The interviewers had always raided him with questions and stories on the things he'd done. But he'd never met someone in person who'd been affected, this was the closest he'd ever come. "But why couldn't she take the cure? The extension is only for older people who are dying already."

"The cancer wasn't what killed her, it had already damaged her heart… she would have needed a transplant but we couldn't find a donor so the doctor put her on the extension until it finally gave out." Bellerose sighed. "Anyways, after that the owner found out I was only 14 and fired me for legal reasons. But a reporter had been there that day and put it all over the news. I became famous overnight, got my own tv show and everything. Soon after, Komaeda came and visited me along with some fucker named Hanamura to see if I really was the best _chef_ ever. I remember how mad that guy was when I was labeled the best _chef_ ever and he was stuck with the title of _cook_. Though past his annoying exterior he wasn't too bad. He recognized my skill faster than anyone I had ever worked with before and… that meant a lot to me. I was invited to Hope's peak and now… I'm here. I was excited for the future this place would provide. There was no doubt in my mind I would get my own restaurant after I graduated from this place. Figures this would happen. Anytime I get hopeful something stops me from getting there."

Bellerose took a deep breath before looking at Koba, then pausing in shock. "Wait! Are you crying! Koba come on!"

"I-I'm s-sorry! But it was so sad! Y-you deserve to be happy!" Koba sniffled as he rubbed his eyes, unable to stop the heavy tears that rolled down his cheek. Falling down and splashing onto the counter despite him trying to hold them all inside.

"Koba you're too nice… someone is going to try and take advantage of that… don't let them." Bellerose sighed while running her fingers through her hair. "And it's sad but this school is the nicest thing that's ever happened to me. The happiest I've ever been has been here, . And its been the place where I could be the most comfortable with who I am. I was so excited when I was looking up the teachers and saw ones who were, well, like me. Hell there were even a few other students too."

"Like… you?" Koba sniffled, unsure what she meant again.

"Koba, come on. You're not that clueless, are you?" Bellerose looked at him incredulously as Koba just shrugged. "I'm talking about how some of the teachers are trans. Hajime I know for sure, the nurse lady, Mikan, I know she made me much more comfortable coming here. Souda too, though I'm not 100% sure about that."

"O-Oh! Ooooooh… ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh! I had no idea!" Koba smiled, rocking slightly on the counter as he continued. "And there's other students too?"

"Yeah, there's Sweeney, obviously. Than I know Sugai was nonbinary. Plus I believe Himura is trans too." Bellerose started to was some of the dishes in the sink, cleaning them up for later.

"Oh." Koba wasn't sure what else to say, so he took another bite of the food she had made before adding. "That's pretty cool."

"Yeah, it's always nice to have someone you can relate to… it makes things easier." Bellerose paused before scooping more food onto Koba's plate.

"Yeah! You're right about that!" Koba happily took another bite, smiling as he enjoyed Bellerose's great cooking.

"Koba, thanks for coming down and checking on me." Bellerose said softly as she gently hugged herself. "It means a lot to me."

"Well no problem!" Koba chuckled as he dumped more food into his mouth. "I'll do anything for my homies!"

"God, you're such a loser." Bellerose joked as she put away the rest of the food. "I don't even know how you're a real person."

"Well I gotta find some way ta be original." Koba joked, smiling as they both laughed. He paused, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small packet of candy. "Here, I want you to have this."

Bellerose paused, gently taking it before smiling softly. "Thanks Koba."

"No problamo!" Koba smiled, putting his pointer and thumb together to create a small loop. "You always give me food so i thought I'd share some of my favorite candies."

"Well, I'll be sure to try them." Bellerose sighed, seemingly almost back to her usual attitude despite the hints at a smile still there. "Especially since they don't have my favorite candies here."

"Aw, well these are all the candies you'd ever need!" Koba pulled a pack out of his pocket as he tossed a few into his mouth.

"I'll take your word for it." Bellerose chuckled before leaning back against the counter. The two of them chatted for a bit longer. Talking about foods and treats they both enjoyed. Koba couldn't help but smile as he felt the two of them grow closer. It felt special, the friendship they were slowly forming together.

* * *

Himura still wasn't sure why Luna wanted to meet him in the library. Glancing down over his tattered clothes he wondered if she was sick of the poor condition he dressed. No, it couldn't be something as simple as that. Whatever the issue was, it was a serious problem. She had even told him to come alone.

Himura quickly finished up making his drink in the cafe, glad to have a moment of drinking something other than black coffee. Taking a sip, he took in how clean the room was. The blood had been washed off of the floor, almost as if no one had even died here. But he felt as if he could see Kusonoki and Sugai's shapes burned into the ground, almost like an invisible film layered the ground where they used to be.

He refused to let it conquer him though. Thinking back to Iris and the garden on the second floor he remembered how she had avoided it for some time after finding their friend buried in the earth. It had been only recently that she had started gardening again. He had asked her about it when he saw her heading up to the second floor with a bucket and a shovel.

" _I don't want to be scared anymore! What happened there was horrible. Finding that head was… was something I still have nightmares about… And I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a fear of losing my own head now-o-or finding another one. But I can't let that stop me. Being with the flowers and trees, surrounded by that fresh air and being bathed in the sun... it relaxes me. It makes everything here more bearable, and I can't let the Mastermind take that away from me!"_

Himura had been impressed with Iris' strong demeanor.. Her willpower was something he had hoped to replicate today, but being back in this room was hard. His friends had died in here… and it was even harder when it forced him to remember his old cafe too. But he felt it was necessary. He wanted to show the Mastermind that he wasn't about to be phased _easily_. Anything to show that asshole he wasn't going to roll over and let him win.

With that Himura decided it was time to see what Luna had wanted. He took a few more slow sips of his coffee before he decided to go ahead and voyage up to the library. He tried to look nonchalant about it but he wasn't too sure why Luna wanted to keep it a secret. Hell he didn't even know what she wanted to keep a secret, and that put him a bit on edge.

He tried not to halt in front of the door but he found himself pausing as he was struck by a thought. He remembered back on the fact that she was some kind of _special agent._ She had told him she used to fight against _despair_. Maybe she had figured out something about the mastermind. That made him tense. If she had important information she might not be okay. He swallowed hard, taking a deep breath before he was finally able to push the door open.

Luna was sitting at one of the tables in the room. She was digging through the books in front of her when Himura entered. She jumped out of her seat when she saw Himura enter, her dress flaring out around her legs as she quickly stood.

"Good, you're here." She said as she looked around, probably checking that he was alone. "Come take a seat."

Himura moved, sitting across from her on the table. The books in front of her looked strange, but Himura couldn't focus on them for long as his vision zeroed in on his friend in front of him.

"What did you want to talk about, Luna?" Himura asked, moving to take another drink of his coffee.

"I wanted to talk about the traitor." Luna started, glancing around the room with a suspicious look.

Himura had almost forgotten there was a traitor. Recalling Monokuma's announcement that one of their friends was working for him. Taking a deep sigh he tried to think of which of his friends were most suspicious. Truth was he hadn't been too worried about the traitor, so he hadn't been giving much thought about who it was, if there even was one. "Do you have an idea who it is?"

"No. I have some speculations. But I don't know if we have to worry about them or not." Luna said as she got comfortable in her seat. "I did some research on the past killing games. I had basic knowledge of them but there's a lot of books that recall the events here. Hotta was always the one who knew all the history to this kind of stuff."

Luna sighed before pulling a small book over, flipping through its pages that resembled more of a case file. The pages covered in words and pictures of all the scenes. Near the back it seemed there was more of what looked like character profiles. She stopped on a page with a muscular woman with long, white hair. Himura focused on her before Luna started to speak. He felt as if he had at least seen her before.

"The traitor in the first game was Sakura Oogami. She was the Ultimate Martial Artist. She had teamed up with Junko Enoshima, aka the mastermind because she had threatened Sakura's family dojo." Luna sighed as she reached for her next book. "In the end, Sakura killed herself in the fourth trial in order to give her classmates a chance to keep on fighting."

"So she never did any bad traitor activities?" Himura asked, noticing he was already half way through his current cup of coffee.

"She reported back to the Mastermind but her final act was breaking open a door that gave her classmates access to the Headmaster's room. Allowing Kyoko Kirigiri to get valuable information that they'd never get otherwise." Luna sighed as she flipped open the second book.

"And what about the second killing school trip?" Himura enquired.

"That… was Chiaki Nanami…" Luna swallowed as she talked, her eyes falling down as she opened the book with the pastel pink haired girl. Even in the picture she looked pretty tired. "Her's is a lot more… sad."

"Sad?" Himura stared at her picture as he felt his brain try to churn around his memories. But he eventually came up with nothing. It was strange, though, didn't everyone in the second killing live?

"She died long before the killing game had started. She was executed in a game similar to what they put Souda through except she was cheated… murdered at the very end. Her death was what Junko had used to brainwash Chiaki's entire class."

"But… if she died before the game even started how could she be the traitor?" Himura asked in order to carry the conversation.

"When they put the class into the Neo World Program they had an administrator and someone who pretended to be a student. The pink bunny Usami was created to be the observer of the program. But when the system tried to make a second helper they scanned all of the students' memories for what they believed what this student would look like and… the program recreated Chiaki. She was the traitor because Monokuma had tricked all of the students into believing the future foundation was their enemy. Really she was working to save them the entire time. She pretty much had to sacrifice her second life to save all of them again." Luna looked distraught as she gazed over the pages of Chiaki's files. She pulled out a small picture of Usami and Himura felt himself halt. That was the weird, pink rabbit that had dragged him out of the computer room.

"She had to sacrifice herself? What happened?" Himura tried hard to pull his eyes off of the rabbit and tried to focus on all this information Luna was dumping on him.

"That asshole upstairs happened. Your teacher, Nagito Komaeda got her killed." Luna had a lot of venom in her voice.

This was something Himura had never heard of. Sure, he had noticed a weird sense of disdain that the other teachers had carried for Komaeda, heck he even knew Tanaka had caused the demise of one of his classmates but he had no idea his teacher had caused another student to die. "What are you talking about?"

"You haven't heard about it? How Nagito stabbed the fuck out of himself- hell, he even stabbed through his own hand. He faked his own suicide and using his stupid luck he made sure Chiaki was the one who actually killed him." Luna hissed. "He was trying to kill the rest of his fellow students but instead ended up killing just poor Chiaki."

"..." Himura stared for a bit before taking a long drink of his coffee. "So this is important because that traitor wasn't evil either… right? What does that have to do with this one?"

"Well, it seems the fact that there was a traitor in the game was always less of a problem than Monokuma made the students think." Luna tapped her fingers on one of the books in front of her. "I was thinking it might be the same here. The traitor may not be as important as Monokuma wants us to believe."

"Well, then I agree. I don't really think any of our friends are a traitor. They all seem equally confused by this whole thing." Himura sighed, fidgeting with the handle of his coffee mug. "But when you were showing me pictures there was a weird, pink bunny thing. You said her name was Usami… do you know anything else?"

"Uuuuh, yeah, I know a bit. I know she was created by the Ultimate Therapist. Usami's creator helped make the Neo World Project and picked her own speaking assistant into the program to help the students." Luna paused, rubbing her neck as she thought to herself. "I believe Usami has recently been used for more therapeutic needs in recent years. They dug through the Ultimate Therapist's old notes and used her to help children after the events of the tragedy."

"Is that it?" None of that seemed to bring Himura answers. Why would she be stuck inside of this school with them? Usami didn't even sound like an entity with its own sentience, just a mascot used like a puppet. Himura supposed if he thought about her like that she seemed more like the polar opposite of Monokuma. The bear was used to be a mascot for despair while the bunny was a vessel to spread hope. But even that line of thinking seemed like a stretch.

"Well, I know some people call her Monomi. But the only people who refer to her with that name are the participants in the School Killing Trip. Even Usami tried to avoid using the name since it was a degrading label to make her seem more like Monokuma." Luna paused for a moment, looking Himura over with a suspicious gaze. "But why do you care?"

"Uh, dunno," Himura was unsure if he wanted to talk to her about what he had experienced the morning before Souda's Mini-Game. It still felt like some kind of lucid dream to him. "Was there anything else you wanted to tell me?"

"Yeah, actually." Luna paused, looking uncertain as she pulled the last book closer to her. "Two last things I wanted to talk about."

Himura watched as she thumbed the book open, pausing as he realized it was some kind of class handbook. She stopped on the final page, looking up before sliding the book over to Himura. "Take a look."

Himura looked down at the book in front of him. On one of the very last pages it congratulated the new students of Hope's Peak for being the best they could be before asking them to sign their names below. Himura took a moment to read over the paragraph and all the names signed below.

 _Greetings Class J-001,_

 _I, Makoto Naegi, am pleased to have you at the new Hope's Peak Academy. As your Headmaster, I plan to get to know each of you personally. This is my own personal copy of this year's handbook, and after you read through it on your first day here I request a small favor from all the students. Please sign your name below for me so that I know each and every one of you accept the rules laid out for you and have a personalized memento I can treasure each and every one of you with. Thank you again for your help in fixing this damaged world._

 _With the Best of Wishes,_

 _Makoto Naegi_

* * *

 _Ryuunosuke Kaito_

 _Saya Eguchi_

 _Beagan Sweeney_

 _Candi Bellerose_

 _Carol Iris_

 _Kazuki Himura_

 _Sae Suzuki_

 _Akumu Kusonoki_

 _Mitsuharu Sugai_

 _Umeko Sato_

 _Moeko Niijima_

 _Yeijiro Hotta_

 _Isadora Luna_

 _Tomonori Kentaro_

 _Koi Yunokawa_

 _Fumio Kobayashi_

Himura paused, seeing the different types of signatures that had been scratched into the page. The large, swirly letters of Kaito to the chicken scratch writing of Koba. But there were more things that caught his attention.

"Whose Sae Suzuki?" Himura asked before pushing the book back towards the seamstress. He took a moment to look over the signature right underneath his name. The letters almost looked like the owner was attempting to carve them into the book. Dark, heavy letters that resembled something off of an alternative music album.

"No idea." She sighed before looking the book over. "Plus Kagabu's name is missing."

Right, Himura had almost forgotten about the Ultimate Stock Trader. The girl had been the first murderer… her death had been the first time they got to truly witness how brutal this game would be. But why was her name missing and who the hell was Sae Suzuki?

"This is really strange." Himura started, pausing before adding. "Do you think this Suzuki could be the Mastermind?"

"It's possible. It would explain why he'd have a grudge against all of us. But I don't have enough evidence to prove it. Hell, I don't even know this guy's talent." Luna sounded frustrated as she massaged her forehead with the palm of her hand.

"So, what else did you discover."

Luna paused, glancing around before looking back at Himura. "I wouldn't call it a discovery… more like a suspicion. I know everyone loves and trusts him but I can't. Everything he says is filled with holes and his stories contradict each other. I think he might be hiding something from all of us."

"Who?" Himura pressed, unsure of why she was only saying _he_. But who in their group of friends were being suspicious? He'd never noticed any holes in any of their stories unless he'd been to oblivious to really listen to what they were saying. "Who don't you trust?"

" _ **I think Fumio Kobayashi might be hiding something from us."**_

The words hit him like a train. She was suspicious of Koba? The kid who could barely speak coherent sentences because he always tried to sound cool. The student who wanted to pretend he was amazing at "s8ting". Koba was the kind of guy who cried when he got mad yet Luna thought he was a liar. "Why Koba?"

"His stories don't make sense. He told me his brother would be the Ultimate Skater if he hadn't died of a failed attempt at a cure but that's impossible. Eun Rhee was going to be the Ultimate Skater long before Kobayashi was even recruited. She just had to wait till the second year started. Plus I've read Kobayashi's statistics in medical magazines and his medicines have never killed anyone." Luna crossed her arms as she continued on. "Plus I asked him what color hair his mom had once and he couldn't tell me if it was blond or dark brown."

"Well he's kind of stupid," Himura went to defend his friend, "I think you're looking too deep into this."

Luna sighed, almost looking disappointed with Himura's response. "I was hoping you'd be with me on this but it seems I misjudged you. That's fine though, maybe I am over examining this." Luna stood to her feet, a final exasperated breath escaping her lips before she turned to leave. "Either way, be careful who you trust, Himura; someone here is a traitor. Even if the others had been innocent it doesn't mean it's the same this time."

With that, she left. Leaving Himura alone in the library. He took a deep breath, unsure of what to do as all this information bounced around in his head. The idea of a traitor made him feel on guard, like one of his friends might stab him while he's not looking. Plus the fact there was a student name they'd never heard was a nightmare. And the suspicions against Koba? Himura didn't want to admit it but that was fairly strange… maybe he'd ask the skater about it on his own. Now, Himura was just left to contemplate what to do next. Mulling over the activities left to complete before the end of the day.

Before he could truly make a decision the door to the library swung open. Sweeney walked in, pausing as he saw Himura at one of the tables.

"Since when is anyone else in here?" He grumbled as he went to hop in one of the lounge chairs. "Shouldn't you be in the cafe?"

"Well nothing is better than reading a good book and enjoying a cup 'o' joe." Himura joked, raising up his empty glass and looking back down at the book in front of him.

"That's bullshit coming from you." Sweeney grumbled again. "I know you didn't plan on being here long. If you had you'd have brought a whole pot here with you and not just a glass. So why are you really here?"

There was a moment of silence. They stared eachother down, eyes locked in a silent showdown before Sweeney seemed fed up with waiting for an answer.

"Fine, don't tell me." Sweeney tugged one of the books off of the shelf, reading into it with an annoyed grunt. "Niijima was looking for you. She wanted you to go up with her and Sato to visit Souda."

Himura stood up, looking around before scooping up his coffee cup. "Oh? Well if I'm needed elsewhere I'll get going."

"Good." Was all he got from Sweeney before he left the artist behind in the room. After the door was closed Himura swore he heard a loud sound from inside the library but he felt as if there was no reason to turn back now. Whatever it was, Sweeney was probably fine.

* * *

"You're using my cup." Niijima said softly as Himura approached her. The cat mug she had given him was gently dangling from his hand.

"Yeah, I thought it was appropriate." Himura smiled as he went to take a sip from the cup. He had a thermos in the pocket of his apron filled with more coffee for their trip upstairs. "So, when are we gonna go visit Souda?"

"Well now that you're here we can head right up." Sato smiled as she stood to her feet. "Tanaka told us about an hour ago that we can go see him. So we should be all ready to drop by."

"Than let's get going." Himura suggested, pausing as he looked over at Niijima. It was hard to tell when she was sitting down but as she stood up it was easier to see the sleeve of her shirt fall limply to her side as the fabric moved freely without an arm underneath. "Where's your prosthetic?"

"It's right here." Sato remarked, lifting it up from wherever the racer had been hiding it.

"It broke when I fell during the... " She drifted off thinking about Souda's Mini-Game. It must have been hard for her to think back on the event. "I know it's probably too soon to ask but he's the only one who can fix it."

"I doubt he'd be mad if you asked." Himura tried to reassure her.

"He'd definitely appreciate the chance to keep his hands busy." Sato suggested. "Now let's get heading upstairs!"

The three of them headed up to the teachers section of the dorms. They were mostly quiet as they ascended the stairs. There was a short pause before Niijima patted Himura's shoulder.

"May I try some of your coffee?" She asked gently.

"Sure but be careful, it's pretty strong." Himura warned as the DJ gently lifted the cup from Himura's hand.

She took a sip before handing it back. Just like usual, her reaction was quiet. Himura could hear the gentle hum of her headphones from where he stood. The beat seemed slower than usual and almost gave her a despondent look. The rings under her eyes looked deeper and her skin a slightly paler shade. But she gave a gentle nod as she started walking again.

"I needed a bit of caffeine to keep me going." She replied as she kept her eyes on Himura.

"That'd be me everyday." Himura replied, pausing as his eyes were drawn back to Niijima's empty sleeve. "If you don't mind me asking… how did you lose your arm?"

"You can't lose something you never had." Niijima's hand reached out of the sleeve to mess with the empty sleeve of her other arm. "I never had both my arms. The only thing I've ever lost was my hearing."

"Your hearing?" Himura questioned.

"Yeah, I'm deaf." Niijima stated gently. "It's why I always have to look at you all when you talk. None of you know sign language so I have to try and read your lips."

"Oh… then why do you always wear your headphones?"

"The vibration is relaxing. Plus it gives some people a different reason why I can't hear them. Gives me an excuse without having to explain that I'm deaf." Niijima paused as she adjusted her headphones. "People get mad when they talk to someone from behind and they can't hear them, but they're usually a little less mad when I have headphones on."

"How did you lose your hearing?" Himura asked.

"I had brain cancer. They said they could have fixed my hearing afterwards but… I really didn't want any more surgery. Once I was done with all my treatments I just wanted to get outta that hospital."

"How old were you?"

"About 5 when I was first diagnosed. I lost my hearing shortly after. I had to do treatment after treatment and it was… exhausting. I remember back then all I had to entertain myself was my small personal computer." Niijima giggled at her own memory. A light, cute sound. "I remember I used to mix all the sounds in the hospital together to make songs. Than when I turned 13 they thought I was gonna die. But then Kobayashi's miracle medicine was released to the public and I was saved."

They were practically up the stairs when Niijima finished her story. Himura took a long drink from his cup as he took it all in. While it wasn't as sad as some of his other students it was still something more personal. It meant a lot to Himura how much his friends were opening up to him-and even though the cancer had to have been rough it seemed like this school trial was harder for her.

"Sensei!" Sato bolted to one of the bedroom doors. She held up her Handbook, allowing the door to click open before she practically kicked the door open.

"Good evening Sato." Himura heard Komaeda's voice before he actually entered the room. The raspy voice sounded more sore than usual.

"What are all of you doing here?" Souda spoke next. From what he could see it seemed the teacher had gotten a bit better. A long strip of metal was in front of him on the table. The teacher's skin seemed a bit more washed out than normal. His eyes red like you'd expect from someone who was crying for hours. He must have never gotten his hat back because his tangled mess of hair was still loose.

Komaeda was near one of the walls, leaned against the wall as he sat there, half cradling himself. The teacher almost looked like a ghost as his almost white skin seemed to carry a horrible dew on the surface. Red rings surrounded his pale green eyes. Right now, Souda looked like he was in better condition.

Gundam was tucked into one of the corners of the room. His presence almost felt like some sort of stone gargoyle. Carved carefully with a cold, malicious look yet was created to protect. Maybe it was fitting that the Ultimate Animal Breeder looked more like a guard dog for the two weaker teachers.

"We're here ta check on you Sensei!" Sato smiled as she strode across the room. "What are you doing?"

Souda lifted the chunk of metal of the table. "Monokuma gave me this janky leg to use and it's a hunk of garbage! I've been trying to make it a little nicer if I'm gonna be stuck with it."

"Of course! The best mechanic ever needs the best leg. You can't just walk around with a piece of junk strapped to your body!" Sato shouted, almost too pumped for the situation.

Souda scoffed as he turned back down to the leg. His hands moving as he rearranged the large tubes attaching from the calf to the knee. "That's exactly what I was thinking."

"Sensei…" Niijima spoke up quietly, causing Souda to lift his head slightly. "I hate to ask but my arm broke."

"Broke? Bring it here." Souda ordered as Sato pulled out the weirdly twisted metal arm. Souda pushed his leg aside to gently look over it. "You popped some of the wires and a few screws broke. Looks like they were gonna need to be replaced soon anyways."

Souda started to fidget with it. "This would be a good time to upgrade this whole thing. Add some new features. Weird that I haven't added a recording system yet… if only I had the parts I could do it right now…"

Himura watched as Souda fidgeted with the pieces. Silence floated around for a bit as they watched him. No one else seemed to know what to say for the moment. It was strange that someone who had been so ripped apart could already be talking. It took him a moment but something grew heavy in his apron pocket. It was calling out to him, almost like an answer to the puzzle ahead of him. He felt as if someone was leaning over his shoulder, putting weight on Kusonoki's old voice recorder in his pocket. He took it out for a moment, looking at it as he remembered his friend. There was no doubt in his mind that she would want Niijima to have this.

"Here," Himura stepped forward, placing the voice recorder in front of Souda. "This should have enough parts… plus I think Kusonoki would have wanted you to have this, Niijima."

Niijima got quiet for a moment. Sadness washed over her face as she watched Souda reach for the voice recorder. Her hand clenched onto her empty sleeve as she stayed silent for a moment longer.

He moved like a shadow, looming behind Niijima. He startled Himura, scared by the sudden, silent movement of Gundam Tanaka. The dark figure reached forward, gesturing towards her without actually making the connection, almost as if he was hesitant to touch another being. His voice felt like a menacing whisper but his words were filled with meaningful intent.

"Kusonoki carried immense power. Her spirit watches over you now. Even now her presence wraps around you with a powerful aurora!" Gundam bellowed, his voice filling the room.

"Hey, don't say shit like that! It's fuckin weird!" Souda barked, pointing a screwdriver at Gundam. "No one is comforted by that kind of sh-"

"So… are you saying she's a ghost…? That ghosts are real?" Niijima asked, turning back to Gundam with wide eyes.

"Spirits of the Damned walk this mortal plane every moment of your existence. Kusonoki was a beacon to them in life. Drawing them closer with her untapped power. In death she lives on with them. Walking with the creatures she had once hunted." Gundam gripped the wrist of his bandaged arm almost as if trying to hold that arm back.

Niijima sniffled, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes as she stared up at him. Tanaka made a surprised gasp of a sound, almost like he was surprised she was crying. His eyes grew wide as he stared down at her. Souda perked up from his spot.

"Did you just make her cry!" Souda snapped, moving to grab his leg of the table. "I can't believe y-" Souda looked nauseous from moving so fast, hunching over his leg as he looked like he was going to vomit.

"Kazuichi, are you alright?" Tanaka asked, moving to go help the other teacher before Niijima cleared her throat.

"Thank you…"

"Thank you?" Tanaka repeated the words back.

" _Thank you?_ He made you cry, Moeko." Sato walked over, taking the place of her teacher for Niijima's defense.

"Kusonoki lived her whole life not knowing if her passion was real or a lie… Thank you for believing in her when no one did." Niijima started to cry harder, tears pouring down her face in heavy blobs. "She always talked about how important you were to her."

A moment of silence fell over the group. The sound of Niijima's crying filled the air. Then, she leapt forward, hugging Gundam tight as she sobbed into his shirt. Her fingers dug into the dark lord's coat. He looked around, hesitant at first. His eyes scanned around as he seemed to look for an answer to what to do. Komaeda made a hugging gesture at him, almost as if it should be obvious.

Gundam paused before giving her a big hug. Rubbing her back awkwardly as he let her cry into his shirt. After a bit, she slowly pulled away, wiping her tears as she went to take a seat at the table. Tanaka cleared his throat, looking more flustered as he tried to brush his clothes on.

"Souda-Sensei, are you okay?" Niijima asked as she sat back down. Himura just realized she had no idea what was happening behind her during her moment with Tanaka.

Souda was still a little hunched over, looking sick as he went to work back on the arm. "Yeah, I just moved too quickly… it hurt a lot."

"How can you be moving around already? Even talking? That seems like a stretch." Himura questioned as he poured a bit more coffee into his cup.

"No idea. If I move too fast my chest hurts and my leg is sore. Whatever medicine they have me on seems to be numbing the exhaustion." Souda explained as he got back to work.

"What happened when the screens turned off?" Komaeda asked, lifting his head slightly as he questioned the mechanic.

"I don't know. It's all hard to recall. It all feels like some kind of fucked up dream. All of it's foggy. I started imagining things from blood loss." Kazuichi paused as he worked as if he was trying hard to remember.

"Imagining things? Like what?" Himura pressed on.

"Well, I thought I saw Monomi for one. She was helping carry me outta the place." Kazuichi started.

"Oh, sure she was." Komaeda almost seemed angry at this point. "I told Hajime not to tell anyone that I thought I'd seen Monomi. I knew you'd make it into some sort of joke. Fair enough, I am some _thing_ meant to be poked and prodded at."

"Wait? You've seen Monomi before?" Kazuichi paused. "So it wasn't just me?"

"I witnessed the creature as well, she had tossed out your body after the maze game." Gundam explained.

For some reason Himura couldn't speak up about his experience with the stuffed rabbit. He remembered how she had tugged him down to the gym. Something got caught in his throat. He didn't like the idea of keeping secrets but the words refused to leave his mouth.

"Ah, so I'm not crazy?" Komaeda perked up before he started digging through his pockets.

"Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. You're not too sane either." Kazuichi mumbled, giving a slightly annoyed glance at the lucky student.

"Monomi gave me something when I saw her. She helped me down the stairs so I could make it to a meeting in the gym… she gave me this."

Komaeda held out a small, green pill. It was tiny and rolled slightly in Komaeda's pale palm. Himura had never been a fan of pills since swallowing them freaked him out. But this one seems like it was made for easy consumption. "I didn't take it because I figured it was all in my dying mind!"

"I know what that is!" Niijima shouted, leaning over the table. "That's one of Kobayashi's medicines! That's the _Aftercare!_ But why would she give you that?"

"Seems like a mistake to me." Kazuichi mumbled. "Isn't the cancer _killing_ you?"

"I used to take that. It's the medicine they give you after _The Cure_. I remember the Cure takes a lot out of you so Kobayashi developed this medicine to go with it… it's supposed to lesson the exhaustion in the sick and keeps organs functioning properly."

Komaeda paused, staring at the small pill in his hand. Himura could almost hear the clocks turning in his head. Then he suddenly tossed it in his mouth, swallowing it down before shrugging. "Seems like a waste of the medicine but if our dear Monomi wants us to take it I'll gladly participate."

"But there's an important question here, how did she get this?" Himura asked.

"No idea… these were still being tested when I took them... " Niijima sighed, turning away from Himura to look back at Souda work.

"It's almost 10…" Sato whispered quietly, taking a step towards the table. "We should get going or we'll get locked up here."

"Good idea." Souda sighed as he set down the screwdriver. "I'll have your arm finished in the morning Niijima. I'll bring it down to you."

"Thank you Sensei." Niijima gave a slight nod, hopping from her chair and then turning to Gundam. "A-And thank you, Tanaka."

"Good night, everyone." Komaeda said with a smile. "May tomorrow be filled with so much more hope than today."

"Eer… thanks." Sato mumbled, almost trying to ignore Nagito as she turned for the door.

"I hope you feel better tomorrow, Sensei." Himura offered, taking up the rear as they left the teachers behind.

"I appreciate the idea, Himura. Thank you." Was the last Himura heard from the teachers before heading down to their own rooms.

Tossing himself into bed there was a lot weighing heavy on Himura's mind tonight. Knowing more about Komaeda's past made Himura trust his teacher less. The fact that Komaeda had tried to murder all of his classmates created a knot in Himura's gut. Plus, Luna's suspicions on Koba made him anxious. He couldn't see the doofy kid being any kind of threat but… the facts were there.

...Koba's stories didn't line up.

* * *

"You handled that well." Komaeda remarked as soon as the students had departed. His eyes slowly going over and locking onto Souda. "I figured you would have cried at least a little. You've never been so put together."

"Kazuichi, are you alright?" Gundam asked next, the teacher scooping out one of the chairs and sitting next to his friend.

The mechanic suddenly burst into tears, forced to put his tools down at the sudden eruption of emotion. "No I'm not okay! Are you kidding! They took my leg! Every time I move it hurts."

"Then why stay quiet. Why not refuse them a visit?" Komaeda quizzed. "If you told them you needed time they'd understand."

"Did you see Sato's face? I practically tried to kill myself while she begged me to keep trying. I'm such a pathetic waste of space!" Kazuichi sobbed. Gundam pushed the metal from under Souda's tears, preventing his friend from accidentally damaging his work. "I at least owed her a bit of security.."

"I believe it is time for your departure." Gundam commanded, his eyes locked onto Komaeda.

"Understood." Komaeda stood to his feet. Giving a wave as he went to leave. "Good night Sou-"

"I saw Nanami." Souda sniffled, barely making it through his tears.

"What was that?" Komaeda questioned.

"Well, first I saw Gundam and Sonia and… Sugai… you were all telling me it would be better if I died.. I believed it. Then everything changed and suddenly Chiaki was reaching out towards me. Sh-she told me the others were fake. That they'd never want me to die, not like this. She saved my life."

"That sounds impossible. She was deleted with Junko back on Jabberwock Island. Whatever you saw must be a copy of her." Komaeda offered. "It can't be Chiaki."

"But it… it _was_ her. Everything changed. The room was warm. She made sure I _lived_. I don't know how to explain it but I-It felt like the school trip." Souda sniffled, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

"I guess we'll see." Komaeda said with a shrug. "If it is Chiaki than I guess help is on the way."

"I hope so." Souda grumbled. "I don't think I can watch another one of my students die."

"None of us can." Komaeda said softly.

"It is time for Kazuichi to depart into the realm of dreams." Gundam reminded. "Good Night, Komaeda."

"Night." Komaeda said, slowly walking back to his own room. He took a moment on his way back, pulling out the family picture once more before locking himself tight into his own room for the night.


	19. Wheel of Misfortune

_Monokuma walked onto the stage, Not in his usual stride however but in a powerful march instead. The lights were low, causing his eye to gleam even brighter in the dark of the room. The corners of the room fall into shadow, hidden from sight. The old props were still there, but something seemed off. Dirty and dingy, the props knocked over and left, almost as if a fight had knocked dirt up onto everything._

 _A new prop was set up on the stage, an old pile of toys. Monokuma stood near them, kicking a small, white teddy bear onto the ground, scooting him away from his black teddy bear brother._

" _I never liked the kids in my neighborhood. They always complained that they missed their parents." Monokuma huffed as he thought back, crossing his thin arms across his plump body. "We used to play war a lot, battling against each other. But sometimes the other kids thought I was being too mean."_

 _Monokuma's eye lit up even more, showering the entire stage with the eerie red glow. "They always said I played too rough. So kids on my side would team up against me! What assholes! Honestly there's nothing more annoying than a_ _ **traitor**_ _. But don't worry, they didn't go unpunished. I always sent them home bleeding and crying. Teaches them to mess with me."_

" **Honestly, it should teach anyone not to cross my path, don't'cha think?"**

" _Anyways, that's it for this Monokuma theater! I hope we all learned a valuable lesson!"_

* * *

Koba felt like it was finally time he got everyone else up. Everyone was always knocking on his door in the morning, and he thought it was time to repay the favor. Once he was dressed he hopped out of his room, he tried to figure out who he would bother first. His eyes locked onto Iris' room and he gave a big grin before heading over.

It had been a long time before he'd chatted with the botanist. He had felt estranged from her ever since Yunokawa died, she had almost seemed to be avoiding him. He had always chocked it up to her being distraught from the death of her friend.

Koba remembered the bubbles that formed in his chest when he saw the beautiful flower child. She was always so sweet, like a strawberry Pixie Stick. Just seeing her had set his heart aflutter. Clearing his throat, he gave a gentle knock on her door.

 _No answer._

Maybe she was just asleep, it was only 7. Clearing his throat again he gave it a shot. "Iris! It's me! Good mornin! I wanted to see how ya doin?"

 _No answer again._

"Are you looking for Iris?"

Koba turned towards the voice, looking to see a silver haired Sweeney just leave his room. "Yeah, 'ave ya seen her?"

"Yeah… her and Luna went up to the garden early this morning." Sweeney explained. "She's probably still there."

"Oh! Thank you! Well, what are you doin' today?" Koba questioned, surprised the artist was talking to him for so long.

"Contemplating our existence." Sweeney mumbled, yawning before he went to rub his eyes.

"Oh…" Koba trailed off for a moment before continuing, "well do ya wanna come wit me to see Iris? Maybe we can all hang out!" Koba offered, half expecting the artist to turn him down.

"Sure. I've got nothing better to do." Sweeney started walking towards the stairs. Koba glanced around, noticing no one else seemed to be around.

"Oh! Maybe we should grab breakfast and take it up to them? I bet they'd like that!" Koba offered.

"Sure… But why are you always yelling? Can you chill a little?" Sweeney groaned, changing his course to the kitchen.

"Sorry, I'm just nervous." Koba explained, hugging his skateboard to his chest. "I haven't talked to Iris in a while."

"Thats weird since we're all trapped in the same school." Sweeney half spoke, half grumbled.

The two of them went through the kitchen. Stopping to wave a greeting at all five teachers. Koba had swore he had heard that Komaeda wasn't well enough to even make it down the stairs, yet there he was, enjoying breakfast with the other teachers. A bit of color had even returned to his skin. Souda was there too. The teacher looked frail and ill and Koba could see the metal leg sticking out from underneath the table. It was good to see all the teachers in somewhat stable conditions after everything that's happened.

Sweeney stopped to talk to Tanaka for a moment. It mainly seemed like small talk. Occasional words of worry to make sure they were both okay. Koba even saw the hamsters crawl out of Gundam's scarf to greet the student. Koba couldn't help feeling a little envious as they let Sweeney pet them. If he had tried that, they'd bite him again.

Koba waved at the students at the table. Himura was seated next to Kaito, the actor using the chubby barista like some kind of pillow. The two of them were sitting across from Sato and Niijima,the two of them playing with a shiny new arm Niijima had. Even from here Koba could hear them recording their voices onto the device.

"Kobayashi, can you say some words for me? I want some of your catchphrases as sound bites for songs." Niijima asked.

"Of course! And it's just Koba, please. We're all friends." Koba walked over, leaving Sweeney to chat with his teacher as he spent a bit of time with friends. "What do you want me to say."

"Radical and Skater."

"You mean Sk8r?" Koba questioned.

Niijima giggled. "Yeah in that goofy way you say it. Your mouth moves funny when you say it."

Koba chuckled, following her directions to record the words. He listened as she played them back, mixing them with music and creating a short, little tune to go with them.

"Thanks, Koba." Niijima said as she went to continue her breakfast.

"There you are." Bellerose said as she exited the kitchen. She looked over to Koba and then to Sweeney. "I thought I was going to have to wake you up. Make sure none of you were dead."

"Not dead yet." Sweeney said, looking up from Gundam and his hamsters to stare at the chef.

"Not funny." Sato mumbled. "You'd all feel bad if someone was dead and you said that."

Bellerose seemed to ignore her and just shrugged. "I'm guessing you're both hungry?"

"No thanks." Sweeney mumbled. "Koba wanted to come."

"Oh?" Her eyes turned to Koba as she waited for him to respond.

"Yeah, we were gonna bring food up to Iris and Luna! They're both in the garden." Koba explained.

"Aw, how nice of you. That way I don't have to do it." Bellerose smiled as she walked back. Bringing out three plates and carefully handing two to Koba and one to Sweeney. One of them had a small, flower like decoration on the side. "The flower one is for Iris. Don't get them mixed up. You'll have a horrible time eating Iris' food."

"Veggie stuff ain't that bad." Koba retorted.

"Oh, it's not because it's vegetarian." Bellerose explained. "Enjoy your breakfast, okay?"

"Of course!" Koba said before running off. "Let's get going Sweeney."

"Chill out or you'll drop it, you idiot." Sweeney called after him, chasing after Koba as the two of them raced up the stairs.

The garden was beautiful today as the two finally wandered inside. Sweeney was out of breath and behind Koba as they finally got inside. Coughing as he shot an agitated look into Koba's direction.

"Do you know how hard it is to run up a flight of stairs with a binder on?" Sweeney growled.

"Sorry," Koba offered his apology to the artist, "I didn't even think about that."

"..." Sweeney looked grumpy for another moment before sighing. "Whatever, it doesn't matter now, we're here."

The two walked through the garden, keeping their eyes peeled for the two girls. He finally saw the brim of Iris' hat peeking out from behind a bush. Koba burst through, only to be startled as the two girls looked up.

Luna was dressed in similar overalls to Iris, finely stitched and crafted to fit her perfectly. The fabric was already coated in dirt. Luna had a sunhat on as well and it happened to be the one Koba had seen right before he had burst into the bush. There was a moment of pause between the four of them before Koba saw Luna's stern, glaring expression slowly melt into one of delight.

"Morning Iris!" Koba said as he carefully squatted, trying to not crush any of the new plants. "I brought you breakfast."

"Thanks Fumio!" Iris said as she gently took the plate, her large, precious smile crossing her soft features. "I've been here so long I didn't even realize I was hungry!"

Koba waited for it. The burst of warmth in his chest and seeing her gorgeous smile, the bubbles in his gut that popped when he saw her soft, curled blond hair. Or even the overwhelming joy he used to feel at seeing her sun kissed skin.

But he felt none of that. No intense emotion. Just the usual rush he got from seeing a friend. He was glad to see her, to spend time with her, the same as he felt when he saw any of his friends. A more controlled warmth. One that seemed to kiss his skin like the sun.

He moved on as Sweeney handed the other plate to Luna. The artist sat in the dirt next to Koba, almost looking bored by the whole thing.

"So, what'cha guys doin?" Koba asked, looking over at the bag of seeds next to Iris. "What kind of plant is that?"

"Oh! They're a special breed of zinnias. They represent remembrance… they're good for respecting people close to you who have died." Iris said softly.

"What are you doing here, Koba?" Luna probbed.

"Oh, I just came to check on my friends!" Koba smiled, unsure of why else he'd come all the way to the garden. "I wanted to see what you're all doing."

"He was knocking on Iris' door this morning." Sweeney said gently. "I told him you two were here."

"Great." Luna said before looking back to Koba. "I had a question for you Koba."

"You're always asking me questions…" Koba mumbled. "When will you run out of questions to ask me?"

"Kobayashi, you told me that you lived in a big, perfect house with your big, perfect family. That the Despair didn't even touch your neighborhood. You said you lived with your mom, your dad, and your brother."

"I-It's just Koba plea-"

"Hush. I didn't even get to my question yet. I don't know why you dislike your family name so much." Luna cut Koba off. "But could you tell me what your dear dad's name was?"

"I-uh-it was-uh…" Koba tried to remember. He searched his brain, combing through every bit of it to try and find the answer. He had blurred images in his head, vague shapes his brain had labeled with the words _dad_. But no name was attached. Almost as if he had never learned anything but the name dad for this father figure. "His name was Dad."

"Your dad's name was Dad?" Luna questioned, raising one of her thick brows in doubt.

"Yeah, he was so ready to be a dad from the day he was born..." Koba smiled, his brain slowly starting to accept that as the true answer. Why else would he not know his dad's name unless it was just _dad._ "He was born for his destiny, just like me!"

"Kobayashi, do you know your brothers name?" Luna questioned. "Your beloved brother?"

"Of course! His name was Rin Kobayashi! Rin and Fumio, best brothers ever!" Koba smiled, though he was still uncomfortable with the weird quiz show he felt like he was on.

"Okay, that's a real name. Now what about your mo-"

"Luna, stop." Sweeney grumbled. "You're making everyone uncomfortable. We all know Koba has some kind of brain damage. The guy can barely remember where his room is at night. Besides, whatever you're trying to do I doubt it will get you anywhere."

"Maybe I should just go…" Koba offered, standing up to his feet. "I don't know what I did to upset ya Luna but I understand if you want me to leave."

"I'll come with you." Sweeney offered, standing to his feet.

"Wait, I'm sorry. How about this, stop by my room in a few hours and I'll have a present for everyone. I've been itching to do some stitching for everyone. I think that's the best thing I can do to ease some of this tension." Luna stood up and left for the foor. "Besides, my Student e-book has everyone's measurements so I don't even have to measure you all myself."

Sweeney and Koba watched as Luna left the room. It was strange, seeing their friend depart in such a manner after all those questions. Koba paused before looking back down to Iris.

"I'm gonna stay here." She offered. "I feel a lot better with dirt between my fingers."

"Understood. I'm gonna go find some candy." Koba offered.

"You're a lucky bastard, getting all your favorite snacks in this place." Sweeney sighed. "How nice it would be to eat a toffee bar before this was all over."

"Ew! Toffee is so hard and nasty!" Koba objected.

"Better than eating weird fruit snacks with gross juice inside of them! It's like popping an eyeball in your mouth!" Sweeney tossed back.

"Eeeeeeeeewwwwww! Don't compare them to eyeballs! They're delicious!" Koba shot back.

"Yeah, if you love digesting fructose corn syrup all day!" Sweeney barked.

"I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT IS!"

Iris giggled from her spot on the ground. "You two sound like children, fighting over silly stuff like candy." Iris dug another hole carefully with her small shovel… Koba didn't know what they were actually called. "Almost like how brothers act back in America."

"Brothers?" Sweeney barked.

"Yeah. In America sibling don't usually get along th-"

" _Greetings Students of Hope's Peak Academy! I wanted to remind everyone that if someone doesn't die by 10'o'clock another teacher is being put on the chopping block."_

All of the students looked towards the monitors. The bear's voice ringing out over them. Koba felt a shudder fall down his spine. He noticed as Iris clenched her fists tight against her chest.

" _So remember, if you really love your teachers you'd kill for them! Anyways, see you all beary soon!"_

"What a jerk!" Iris shouted, crossing her arms after she punched one of the seeds into the ground. "He's trying to put the lives of our teachers on the line in order to get us to kill each other."

"That's what he does. He takes the things we care about and uses it against us." Sweeney mumbled, looking at Iris carefully. "Think anyone will do it?"

"Tanaka-Sensei told me we should stay strong. That the teachers can handle themselves." Iris whimpered.

"Yeah, I bet." Sweeney sighed. "So Koba, what do you want to do?"

Koba paused, tapping his jaw in thought. Usually people didn't ask what he wanted to do. "Dunno. Wanna go see who else is free?"

"I guess." Sweeney rubbed his neck. "The more the merrier or whatever."

"Exactly!" Koba laughed, waving at Iris. "See you later."

"You too!" She waved back, digging up her next hole.

Sweeney and Koba left the room, Koba silently wondering about his current situation. He had no idea why Luna suddenly hated him so much, her behavior around him had suddenly shifted ever since he told her how his brother had died. Then there was Sweeney; He appreciated the sudden lack of insults, but why? After the last trial Sweeney has been a lot nicer, a lot of his bite seemed to be pulled back. Like the artist suddenly liked Koba.

"Why are you nice to me now?" Koba finally asked.

"I told you, I was jealous. Plus you're not a mindless idiot like I thought you were, you're actually really smart... Besides,what's the point of being mean to the only people here? It all feels like a useless effort… I feel trapped." Sweeney rubbed his neck harder, and Koba worried for a minute that he was going to hurt himself if he kept doing that. A sudden look of exhaustion washed over Sweeney's face.

"Hey, don't worry, we'll all get through this." Koba reached out, patting his friend's shoulder. "I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Fumio." Sweeney said gently. "You'll regret it when everything backfires."

"Well I'm gonna try." Koba said as the two reached the bottom of the steps.

"Well, that's courageous of you." Sweeney said, though Koba was unsure if his words were sincere or not.

The two of them kept walking, heading out towards the rest of their classmates. Koba pushed everything else to the back of his mind for the moment. Right now his main focus would be spending time with friends.

* * *

"I can't believe Luna is doing us such a favor and making us all new, fashionable outfits!" Kaito joyfully cheered as he waited for Himura to follow him. "Frankly I was starting to get sick and tired of the clothes provided for me. They're not nearly as extensive as my hyphenate walk-in closet at home, ya know?"

Himura carried his cat mug out of the room with him as he followed Kaito down to Luna's room. He was glad the actor seemed so pleased by the idea of playing dress up with Luna's inventive wardrobe. While Himura loved helping his friends with their talents he didn't know how he felt about Luna making them their own, personalized outfits. He trusted her needle work, of course, but the things Luna had dressed herself in made Himura worry she'd force him into something… scandalous.

"Oooh, aren't you excited?" Kaito asked as he went to knock on the seamstress' door.

"If you're excited than I'm excited." Himura spoke without much enthusiasm in his voice. But wasn't that just how he always sounded? Bland and boring and always like he didn't care.

Wasn't that why so many people had given up on him in the past? And yet, Kaito smiled even more at him, taking the response with joy. Somehow he'd seen how much it actually meant to him. While not a lot of things gave even a spark of emotions in his numbed head, Kaito at least lit a warm fire of warmth inside of him. More than he'd ever really experienced before.

"Himura! Kaito! I'm so glad you could come!" Luna opened her door, showing her room off behind her. Himura couldn't help but be distracted by her current outfit. Instead of her normal, gorgeous yellow dress she always wore she looked more like she was cosplaying a sexier version of Iris. Short, fitting overalls and a bra like crop top. Even a bit of dirt was splattered onto the clothes.

"You look so good, sweetheart!" Kaito flashed that perfect smile of his,the perfectly straight, brilliantly white teeth of his flashed in the ill-lit hallway.

"Thanks, I was gardening with Iris earlier this morning." Luna smiled.

"Well if you get to dress like that, honey, I should try it sometime." Kaito looked as if he was actually thinking it over.

"Well, you're going to look really good when I give you some new threads." Luna offered before pulling him inside. "Now let's get started."

Luna's room was packed full of people and fabrics at this point. Designs and pages from fashion magazines were taped onto the wall in a hurried fashion, a lot of them looking crooked and cluttered as they were crammed together in places. Against the wall was a pile of fabrics, almost any Himura could imagine. Strings decorated the counter tops along with an assortment of needles. Himura would have to remember to watch his step for any loose ones that may have tumbled onto the ground.

All of the other students were already there. Iris was sitting in the corner, fidgeting with a potted plant in the corner of Luna's room. Sato and Niijima sat next to her and Himura couldn't help but notice the DJ seemed to be looking better than before. Maybe the death of her friend was weighing down on her a little less today.

"Now, I'll give everyone their outfits so you can all change in your rooms, then we can all meet back up in the main hall, okay?" Luna asked.

"If we're all changing and meeting somewhere else, why did you have us meet here in the first place?" Sweeney grumbled.

"Because I needed to make sure everyone actually showed up." Luna practically hissed as she went and handed him a small box. "So enjoy your present."

She went around, handing a box to everyone in the room, all wrapped in crinkly, fine cut paper. She handed a nice, big one to Kaito before glancing at Himura and taking a step back. Himura paused, a little confused as she seemed to run out of her gifts. Did she not make him anything?

"And Himura, I figured you wouldn't want anything. Plus I ran out of time to make you anything." She sighed, rubbing her neck as she went to take a step out into the hall. "Now, me and Himura will wait for you all in front of the dining room. Take your time and I'm so excited to see you in your perfect outfits."

Everyone started to depart, looking over their gifts with a close eye. Kaito wavered at Himura's side, glancing down at him with a worried look. "How dare she forget about you. Those raggy jeans you're forced to wear and she couldn't even make you a new pair of pants. It almost feels unfair to open my own."

"Nah, I didn't want anything," Himura reassured the other man. "Besides you were so excited for these outfits. Go have fun."

"You're right! I must carry on for both of us now. I shall return a changed man, cloaked in the best fashion imaginable!" Kaito's voice spoke as if his words were poetry, beautiful lines that flowed from him with grace. "I'll be back soon."

When everyone had left the room, Luna looked over at Himura with a smile. The room had grown quiet before she slowly walked towards him, shutting the door behind her as she guided them both out. "It was really hard not making you something. Your clothes are just so old…"

"Why did you do this?" Himura questioned as they reached the main lounge. "I know you're nice enough to do this from the kindness of your heart, but I get the feeling that you had different intentions this time."

"All the measurements in our student handbooks are recent. I know because I double checked Iris' and mine. I want to use them to see if Kobayashi's measurements are off." Luna said as she watched the hall.

"Why would that matter?" Himura asked.

"Look at this." Luna opened up a file like folder, flipping through it with a blank expression. "I borrowed it from Naegi-Sensei."

"Our report cards? What about them?" Himura lazily looked over at the folder. For some reason he found it hard to doubt Fumio as much as she did. Was he just a fool for believing in his friend? Probably.

"These are pictures of us right when we entered the school. Everyone matches their picture, granted some people look a bit older, everyone looks similar to when they were accepted. Everyone except-" Her actions told more than her words as she ended on Koba's page. The facial structure of Koba was present, it was definitely the same student. But instead he looked like those pictures of recently rescued abused animals. Sad, anxious, and dirty. His hair was a dark, flat brown, almost as if it hadn't been properly washed in a while. A large, baggy sweater rested on his body as his eyes seemed to avoid the camera. A few visible scabs were visible on the end of his jaw. "-Fumio Kobayashi. Not to be overly suspicious but if I suddenly woke up blond with the worst haircut in the world I'd be a bit more worried than he was."

"And what will these clothes prove?" Himura questioned. "That Koba actually can remove that hideous jacket of his?"

"I wish you'd stop testing me. I don't think that's really Fumio Kobayashi." Luna finally said it, no more dancing around the actual answer.

"Wh-? Are you kidding me?" Himura almost choked, fumbling with his mug and barely managing to catch it before it hit the floor. "That's fucking crazy!"

"No it's not! He refuses to be called by his name; that's weird. And we can't prove it's him by his talent! We can't have him _cure cancer_ for us all to see. It's an impossible feat to just perform something like that while we're locked in the school.. He doesn't even know anything about his past! I don't know what other answer there could be to this!" Luna huffed before looking back towards the hallway. "Anyways, if I'm wrong, the clothes will fit Koba fine."

"Luna I-" Himura started but he was silenced as Sato burst into the room, throwing up her arms.

The racer was dressed in tight, high waisted dress pants that went up about 3 inches past her waist line. Her upper body was covered in a perfectly fitting dress shirt top with a small bow tie to go with it. She looked like she was dressed for some formal party. "I look pretty good, don't ya think? Niijima looks a lot cuter, though."

Niijima walked up from behind the racer. She had a large, turtle neck sweater that was long enough to be a dress but didn't quite make it to her knees. The bottom of her face was easy to dip inside inside the wide neck of the pastel pink sweater. The bottom scooping up high enough on her long legs to give the cute outfit a slightly scandalous look. Her black boots complemented the sweater dress, going up slightly past her knees and making the tall girl even taller. Himura's personal favorite addition to her outfit was the cute picture of a cat lounging on the front of her sweater, almost like it was taking a nap.

"Stop it Sato! You look a lot better than me. And this dress is kind of short." Niijima directed the last half at Luna.

"Oh that was on purpose," Luna confessed, "it shows off those long legs of yours."

Niijima's cheeks turned slightly pink as she took a few steps back. Just as she did, two more of their friends strode forward. It was almost breathtaking at how _different_ Bellerose and Sweeney looked.

Bellerose and Sweeney always looked so formal, dressed in fitting formal clothes and button up shirts. It was jarring to see them in the fashion Luna had picked out. Bellerose wore a loose fitting shirt that hung off her right shoulder. Her legs tightly wound in black leggings that really showed off the their structure. Sweeney was dressed in jeans that were absolutely shredded over the knees. His shirt was perfectly tight, fitting him in just the right places and ended right above his pants. The shirt was short enough to show off his tattooed arms. The tattered, grunge look of the outfit really complimented his tattoos , he looked like he would fit in perfectly with a boyband, and Himura quietly thought to himself that the look was pretty both looked good in what Himura would call street fashion.

"This is stupid." Bellerose mumbled, however she didn't sound too upset. "This isn't professional at all."

"Well, I hate to break this news to you, Candi, but sometimes people wear clothes to look good. Not for work." Luna explained.

"You look pretty good, too." Niijima said softly. "It really shows off how smooth your shoulders are. Oh! And you could totally go to one of my parties like this."

"You look good too Niijima." Bellerose spoke softly, obviously trying to take some of the bite off of her usually harsh words. After a moment she glanced back at Sato, almost letting out a giggle. "And you look good too. Dressed like that I'd let you work in my restaurant as a server. I never thought you could look so… professional."

"Thanks," Sato responded, looking as if she was unsure if she wanted to be mad at the chef for earlier or loosen up a bit. "You look like someone I'd let ride in my car with me! Oh! Or that I'd get a big ol' kiss from after I win the first place trophy."

Himura half expected Bellerose to retort, to shame Sato for the blatant and constant flirting. But she just smiled, slowly walking over to Sato with slow, carefully placed steps. Sato's face turned red as she stepped closer, looking more nervous the closer Bellerose got. Was she going to smack her? Tell her up close to shut up? Nope, looked as if none of that was the answer as she reached up and gave Sato a small kiss on the cheek. The racer looked as if she might explode.

"Thanks for dealing with my shitty attitude." Bellerose whispered before taking a few steps back. "No offense but I'm gonna change back now."

"None taken, darling." Luna watched as Bellerose walked back to her room. A smile was still plastered onto the seamstress' face.

"Well, I don't know what Bellerose is talking about, I think I look pretty cool." Sweeney smirked as he brushed himself off. "Though is this shirt supposed to be a midriff?"

"Of course it is! I thought it adds a little bit more sexy to the whole outfit." Luna smirked, moving to place one of her hands on her jaw.

"Well, you're definitely right!" Sweeney laughed.

"I hope I didn't keep you all waiting!" It didn't take Himura long to have his head shoot up to try and locate Kaito. The actor was strolling down the hall dressed as greatly as ever. He seemed to match Luna and Iris at this point. Luna had made him a pair of skinny jeans, hugging his legs at every curve, ending at the center of his ankles. He had on a tight shirt that looked as if it barely fit, hugging onto his shoulders and muscled arms. The bottom barely scooped over the rim of his pants, flaring out slightly at the bottom.

Luna went to really look at him but paused as the sound of a skate board sounded down the hall. Her gaze moved to look past Kaito, onto the figure of Koba that was coming down the hall.

The skater was running after his skate board, like how you'd see professionals pick up speed before jumping on. Yet, for some reason, he never got to the part where he actually got on the board. Instead, he watched as the board beat him to his friends, stopping right before he crashed into anyone. Sweeney had caught Koba's board with his foot, rolling his eyes as Koba went to catch his breath before speaking.

"Where's the shirt I gave you?" Luna took a step forward. The utter shock on her face at the fact Koba was still wearing that big, neon windbreaker of his.

"I got it on underneath my jacket!" Koba smiled, patting his chest as he grinned. "I love how it fits! It's a lot comfier than wearing nothin' unda here! So thanks!"

"Well I want to make sure it fits right, can I see?" Luna tried not to be obvious with her plans even though they were slowly unraveling in front of her.

"Nah! I can't be seen without my jacket, it's apart of my image, ya know. I can't ge changin' my image." Koba adjusted his chartreuse hat on his head.

"Did you really not wear a shirt under there? That's gross." Sweeney grumbled, picking up the skateboard and handing it back over to Koba.

"Do people normally wear shirts under jackets?" Koba asked.

"Yes." Sweeney responded.

"Well, I'm wearing a shirt now." Koba responded, shrugging as he hugged his skate board. "And now I know to wear a shirt under this."

"You're unbelievable." Sweeney rubbed his forehead for a moment.

"Oh! I'm not the last one here, am I?" Iris soft voice barely lifted over the crowd. Everyone turned to see her all at once. Her small, curved frame was highlighted in an adorable sun dress. A soft yellow that matched her hair and was easy on the eyes. The fabric had a simple decal of sunflowers that decorated every inch of the dress. Just like always, Iris was the cutest one in the group. "I'm sorry it took me so long to get ready."

"Don't worry about it." Luna sighed, defeated in her attempt to prove her suspicions, but still growing gentle at the sight of Iris. "You look really cute, Carol."

"Thank you!" Iris smiled, a giggle leaving her as she jumped a little.

"Yeah, you look really pretty!" Koba said next, taking a step back so he could look at her.

"Almost like a star, shining bright in the sky. Tiny, but beautiful." Sato added, a big smile on her face.

"Th-Thank you." Iris said, her cheeks turning a soft pink.

"Why not compare her to the sun?" Sweeney crossed his arms. "She's dressed in all yellow?"

"Because everyone compares pretty girls to the sun. It's boring. Plus you have to squint when you look at the sun. I've never seen the sun and been glad. It makes everything too hot." Sato complained.

"That's fair." Niijima chipped in.

" _Good evening, it's your beloved mascot Monokuma! I just wanted to remind everyone that you only have two hours until it's time to spin the wheel! So if no one dies I guess I'll see you all there!"_

Everyone turned to look at the screen in silence. The temporary peace that had settled over them was shattered as the bear called out to them. Their final warning before one of their teachers had to walk the path of death.

" _No matter what you idiots decide to do someone will die tonight! Puhuhuhuhu- PHUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I CAN'T WAIT TO SPIN THAT WHEEL!"_

As the screen turned off, all the students remained still. A reminder that one of their teachers would die tonight or one of them. The teachers' had insisted that the students should preserve their own lives. That no matter what happened, the teachers would be able to handle it. But that was hard to believe. The poor state that Souda and Komaeda were in, Himura doubted they could survive any kind of test. He was sure that if either of them were picked they would die.

Maybe everyone knew that. The situation they were currently stuck in was grim, and silence fell over entire group like a blanket. They had to try and come up with a way to save everyone. There had to be a way around the mastermind's plans. A way that they could _win_ this battle, a way they could win this war.

"I won't let Souda-Sensei go through that again!" Sato growled. "I'll find a way around this."

"I'm going to try and find an answer to all of this." Niijima whispered, as a determined look washed over her face. "Maybe there's something we can do so no one else has to get hurt."

"Mr. Tanaka will figure this out!" Iris clenched her fists, determination in her words. "He said he won't let any of us get hurt."

"He's only one person. He can't do all that, he just said that to make you feel better." Sweeney grumbled.

"That's not true! He's a powerful, dark lord who'll use his powers to protect us!" Iris huffed.

"This is going too far, let's all go to bed. We'll see each other in two hours. If everyone quietly stays locked in their rooms, nothing bad will happen, got it?" Bellerose looked everyone over. "That way no one will die."

"Yeah, good idea." Luna looked around, staring down everyone before pointing back down the hall. "Everyone to their rooms."

"I'm gonna go see Souda-Sensei first… I want to see if he's feeling better." Sato rubbed the back of her neck. "Than I'll go to bed, I promise."

"I want to come." Iris took a step towards the racer.

"Me too." Niijima stepped forward.

"Do you want to come?" Iris offered to Sweeney.

"What's the point? A final goodbye before one of them is killed? No thanks." He mumbled before heading back to his room.

"What about you Kaito? Want to go? Your dad is most likely up there with them." Himura offered the actor.

"No, Honey, my dear dad will be fine." Kaito ran his fingers through his hair in one quick swoop. "He was a lucky student for a reason. He won't get picked, and if he does, he won't die. Besides, talking to him before a possible tragedy will just make me anxious. Better to stay ignorant to the impending doom."

"If you say so." Himura sighed, scratching the back of his head as he followed Kaito back to his room. "Do you want to hang out with me for a few hours?"

"You're offering me time alone with you in your room? How _s_!" Kaito remarked, a hand to his chest as he practically sounded the word out. "How could I ever turn down personal time with my favorite guy?"

Himura chuckled, unsure of how to react to the melodramatic reactions the actor always carried with him. "Favorite? I can't be your favorite. Don't flatter me."

"Aw, but it's true! My cute lil cafe boy." Kaito patted the top of Himura's head.

Even though right now was a dire time, unsafe for everyone here, Himura felt himself drawn into this moment. His cheeks turning red as he swallowed hard. Together they walked back to his room, ready to enjoy a nice, warm cup of coffee, before waiting for an unstoppable doom. But at least they could wait for this doom together.

* * *

Two hours.

That's all they had left before one of them was put on the chopping block.

Souda claimed Chiaki had appeared, guided him through the maze and saved his life. But who knows if she can do it again. Who knows if that was even real. They claim that Monomi is really inside of this school but how could that even be possible.

Komaeda had a few ideas on why this might be true.

He reached out, gently putting one of his pale hands on the wheel in front of him. Monokuma had left it here in the open, like some kind of omen. A warning to anyone who dare oppose the menace, a tyrant reminding his subjects that he controls the shots.

With a reminder like this, one would think that a king would think his power was in question.

Whatever happened that night wasn't apart of the mastermind's plans. Whoever shut down the attempted murder was on their side, just like Chiaki and Monomi were all those years ago. This time would be different, hopefully. From what they have seen, they could guess whose side this hidden savior was on.

Komaeda ran one of his metal fingers over black rim of the wheel. As the soft whine of metal hitting metal sounded around him he thought about rigging the wheel, making it that so, no matter what, he would get picked for the punishment. He knew his students would be okay without him, they didn't need his help in the long run. Another idea even crossed his mind- a way to bring hope to all of his beloved students. If Komaeda were to kill himself then, maybe, everything could be avoided. None of the students would be forced to die tonight, nor one of his friends. The idea was tempting, but if he was about to perform another sacrificial suicide he would have to hurry. The longer he waited the closer someone grew to the empty grasp of death.

He gave the wheel a soft tug, watching as it spun with a quiet hum. Though the most ideal situation sounded like the suicide to him, he couldn't let that happen. Someone was watching him. He felt the tiny eyes burning into his back, watching his every move to make sure he didn't do anything wrong. And yet, he was still unsure of who was watching him. In this prison the sensation of being watched was always crawling underneath their skin like a parasite. At this point most of them had grown used to the nipping sensation of eyes burning into their skin, and yet, this felt more direct. Like someone was personally following him around and watching his every move. But the stranger part about this sensation was that it didn't feel menacing… it was a comfort, and familiar.

The wheel stopped with a soft click, ending on a small image of Gundam. He paused, spinning it again, only to have it land on the lord of evil himself again. A few more spins helped Komaeda realize exactly what was going on. The wheel was already rigged so that Gundam Tanaka would be the one to be forced into this killing game.

Komaeda went to look around the back, seeing if he could move the rig to fall on his own name instead. He had another hour before everyone would start to arrive in the gym. An hour to realign the machine and save his goth friend. Someone as special, and important, as his own classmate shouldn't suffer. Instead, a glorified waste of space should take their place. A hopeless mess o-

Komaeda paused as his hand finally brushed against the rig of the wheel. His fingers gently brushing over it, only to pull them away. This rig wasn't built into the wheel… it was added on later. Komaeda paused, taking in the strange addition before diving back in. Either way, he wasn't going to let Gundam get crushed in some murder game. He let his fingers wrap around it, only stopping when he heard a soft yell.

"Wh-Wh-What are you doing?" Monomi's squeaky voice sounded as she tried her hardest to pull her fat, little, body onto the stage. "Do-Don't mess with that! I-I know Monokuma doesn't care but I don't want you to do this!"

Komaeda pulled his hand away, looking closely as the stuffed rabbit kept trying to pull herself up. He slowly walked over to her, the sound of his shoes making a soft, almost ominous, click on the ground as he drew closer. Once he hovered over her she stopped her struggling, pausing to look up at Komaeda expectantly. Without thinking, he hoisted her off the ground, holding her up a bit above his head. She was soft, almost like a children's toy, plush to the touch and gentle. Strange that she could do so much with such a weak body.

"Why?" Komaeda asked gently.

"Wh-what?" Monomi whimpered.

"Why doesn't Monokuma care if we mess with the wheel and why do you care if _I_ mess with it?"

"Well Monokuma says that no matter what you do it'll still pick one of the teachers… he doesn't really care who dies." Monomi whimpered.

"And," Komaeda tried to get her to carry on, "why do you care?"

"I can't answer that! I'm not even supposed to be seen!" Monomi started to cry, making sniffling sounds as she struggled in Komaeda's hands. Weird, Komaeda knew the doll could escape if she really wanted too.

"Monomi!" Monokuma's voice sprang up, causing Komaeda to look over as the other stuffed toy entered the room, hoping onto the stage in one easy jump. "What the hell are you doing! You're not supposed to be out here!"

Komaeda chuckled, dropping the stuffed bunny and watching as she bounced on the ground. "My bad. She was spying on me."

"I wasn't spying, I was monitoring to make sure you didn't do anything c-crazy!" Monomi argued, looking angry and even more heartbroken at being dropped on the floor like some discarded toy.

"Well I apologize for my little sister's **rude** behavior! She's supposed to be grounded." Monokuma growled, grabbing Monomi's plush wrist before he tried to drag her away. "Unfortunately she's an **idiot!** "

"That's alright." Komaeda knew it was a risk, but he reached down, gently patting the firm head of Monokuma. This one was less like a toy. Firm material that was more made for the robotics than for hugging. He pulled away, taking in the angry look of the bear before waving. "See you all in an hour."

"Damn right you will!" Monokuma growled, glaring up at Komaeda and trying to slap his hand away. "And don't fucking touch me you twig!"

Monokuma dragged the sobbing Monomi away. The two of them were bickering as the rabbit's tears left streams of water on the ground in their wake. Komaeda caught glimpses of their arguments as they left, but nothing really seemed to stick out to him, most of it wasn't even coherent. He watched as the door shut behind them, dropping him back into this strange waiting game.

* * *

"Is it that time already?" Koba asked gently as his half cracked bedroom door slowly opened, showing the round face of Himura in the door.

"Unfortunately." The barista responded, Kaito was hanging over his shoulder. Koba quickly joined the two in the hall, hugging his skateboard close as the weight of the situation pushed down on him.

It made everything around him feel light. The world swaying around him as he tried not to tip over. His feet were filled with lead as he tried to keep himself balanced. Everything felt like it was about to spill over.

He saw Sato waiting at the foot of the stairs for her teacher. It was hard to watch as the teacher walked down the stairs, his prosthetic gleaming in the light of the hall as his Student worriedly hugged him. Bellerose was near Sato as well, gently patting the other girl's back as they readied themselves and merged into the smaller group of teachers. Koba noticed Komaeda was missing from the group, but he figured the teacher was already in the gym. It wasn't like him to be late for an event like this.

Sweeney walked up behind Koba, falling in place by his side with a sullen look. He glanced up at him, rubbing his neck before looking away. He was obviously trying to be tough right now. Sweeney was always that kind of guy, trying to act like the toughest nut out there but there had to be stuff that got to him too.

"Don't worry too much." Koba reached out, trying to reassure him. "Everything's going to be okay."

"And I told you that you can't promise that." Sweeney shot back, though it lacked it's usual venom. Koba sighed as he decided to back off and look for his other friends.

"Where's Iris and Niijima?" Naegi asked as he looked over the whole group, nervous as he tried to look everyone over.

"Iris went up to the garden to relax," Sweeney responded, "I saw her leave her room shortly after we all split up. She said she was too anxious to just wait around all day."

"And Niijima?" Hajime questioned.

"Niijima told me she wanted to go into the library." Sato explained. "She said she had important research to do."

"So they'll all meet us there." Tanaka sighed as he gripped onto his own wrist. "Tonight shall be a day we show that beast we will not kill for his entertainment! We shall show him our boundless power!"

"Or get trampled on…" Souda mumbled as he walked over to stand next to his friend. The teacher's posture had barely changed from his last incident. If Koba couldn't see the well crafted metal leg he'd have thought the mechanic still had both of the original ones.

"No point in standing around here." Hajime sighed, gesturing for the entire group to follow him down the hall. "The last thing we want to do is be late."

"Maybe we just shouldn't go!" Sato was practically begging for a way around this event. It was sad to see the fear that filled every part of her face. "That will really show him we don't care about his dumb rules!"

"Wrong. We saw what happens when we don't listen." Hajime remarked, glancing back at Souda's leg and then back up at Sato. "I doubt I have to remind you."

"Right… you're right." Sato took a step back, falling in line with her friends with a defeated groan.

"Besides, hiding from the doom behind that door is a sign of fear. The mastermind would gladly drag us from our beds to hear our screams bellow into the dead of the night. He feeds off of our pain and misery. We must remain strong to show him we will not waver!"

"Stop being so dramatic." Souda grumbled before his eyes started to water again. "We all know he's gonna pick me again so he can finish the job! He was so mad when I li-"

"Kazuichi, don't talk like that. It's enough I have to talk Komaeda away from that kind of stuff. I don't want to have to babysit both of you." Hajime ordered. "Besides, that doesn't help your students right now."

Souda grumbled at first, obviously mad at Hajime's reaction. Koba watched as his mouth opened only to snap shut like a trap when he saw the sullen look on Sato's face. The meaning of Hajime's words slowly making sense.

When they reached the inside of the gym, Koba wasn't even surprised to see Komaeda leaning on the side of the stage. His pale skin almost glowing in the bright light of the gym. Then there was Iris, the gardener was sitting next to him, chatting his ear off about something they could only catch half way through.

"-and that's why back in the old days Tulips used to be worth more than gold. Can you believe tha-" She stopped talking as she saw Gundam enter the room. Smiling before she quickly jogged over to everyone else.

"Greetings Master Tanaka! Are you ready to defeat the evil with your ungodly powers tonight?" Iris squeezed her fists as she tried to look as menacing as possible for such a cute girl.

"Ah, Iris, my brightest pupil. As I promised you will see as I demolish Monokuma's plans tonight. I shall cast him into the endless abyss he wishes to throw us in!" Tanaka puffed out his chest as Koba swore he saw a dark mist around him. Or maybe that was his own fear clinging onto the teacher. Someone so adamant about such powers had to have something, right?

"It's ten'o'clock." Bellerose said gently, hugging herself as she turned to look at the clock. "Everyone get ready."

The air was still. They were all waiting for Monokuma, for that horrible laugh to break the silence, even for the screen to announce that one of them had to turn the wheel. Yet nothing ever came of it. First five minute of this silence passed. No one made a single sound as they all watched the wheel, waiting for it to turn. Those five measly minutes soon became 15. Students had wandered to sit near the walls. Koba stayed next to Himura, sitting down with the caffeine addict and his boyfriend near the center of the gym. Koba kind of just listened to them talk as he waited on the announcement. Then 20 minutes passed. It was easy to tell people were starting to think that maybe Monokuma wasn't just late. Finally, when an entire half an hour had passed, someone finally spoke up.

"Something's not right." Naegi spoke up, taking a step towards the stage. "Monokuma is never late."

He looked over the students scattered around the gym, some of them sitting in the corners as they waited for the announcement to start.

"Monokuma!" Komaeda shouted, trying to summon the bear from his hiding spot. "Stop toying with us and let us finish this swiftly. We don't have all night."

The bear rose from the ground wearing a tired look on his face. He played off facade as he rubbed his eyes with a big, long yawn. He looked confused, looking around at everyone as they expectantly stared him down.

"What the hell did you losers wake me up for?" Monokuma growled. "Even a gorgeous bear like me needs his beauty sleep."

"But it's past 10. You said that you'd spin the wheel at 10." Souda whined. "It's not funny to keep us waiting all night."

"Oh, you didn't know? Game night has been cancelled tonight." Monokuma yawned.

"Cancelled?" Gundam piped up. "Or has it been delayed until the morning?"

"Nope, Cancelled means it's no longer happening, idiot." Monokuma shrugged as he continued to rattle on with his nonsense. "I can't believe you all didn't know it was cancelled yet!"

"Why was it cancelled?" Naegi burst out. "Why would you ever cancel a threat like that? It's not like it's out of the kindness of your heart!"

"Oh dear Makoto. You're such a bad headmaster." Monokuma looked more bored as he went to wave goodnight. "You'll all figure it out in a few seconds. You're not that stupid."

Monokuma vanished before the real panic settled in. It took them awhile to realize it but one could see their facial expressions shift and change to that of fear. It didn't take long for everyone to scan their group for their missing member.

"Where's Niijima?" Sato bellowed before gripping onto herself. "Has anyone seen her?"

"The library!" Hajime shouted. "You said she visited the library!"

"Yeah b-but that was hours ago!" Sato whimpered.

Panic was obvious on all of their faces, Koba felt his muscles stiffen. The world seemed to spin as he came to the conclusion of why this murder game was canceled. Monokuma had told them the only way to end this mini game when it had been first announced. Now, everyone knew exactly why it was cancelled.

"We're wasting time down here," Koba shouted, his body suddenly heaving as he rushed out of the room. "We need to get upstairs right now! She might still be okay!"

He bolted, racing out of the room and up the stairs as fast as he could. He could hear footsteps behind him as the fastest students quickly caught up with him. His heart pounded in his chest, ready to burst out of his chest. But he was unsure of what to do next. His feet carried him up the stairs, lifted him up every step as he bounded towards the top. He needed to hurry. There was still a chance he could save his friend.

He didn't slow down when he saw the Library door approaching, the distance closing between him and the wooden frame. He felt his legs carry him. He couldn't stop. He just powered forward until he slammed into the door, letting out a pained yelp as it refused to budge.

Stumbling back, he took another hard hit at it. Ramming his shoulder into the door in a frenzy. Pain shot through his arm as he felt the wood refuse to give. Though, he couldn't help but notice _**the scratches on the edge of the door, almost like someone digging their nails into the wood**_.

"Take a step back darlin'. You'll dislocate your shoulder like that." Kaito remarked, grabbing Koba's shoulder as he pulled him away. "I'll show you what a role as a hero will teach you."

Kaito barely hesitated before one of his long legs darted forward, bashing the door knob of the door off in one swift kick. It slowly swung open. Koba darted in without thinking, soon to gasp in fear.

There she swung from the ceiling. A rope tied from somewhere in the book shelf above her, tight around her neck as she gently swayed. The dj's long limbs dangled from her body like branches broken off of a beautiful tree. Koba covered his mouth in shock before running over, climbing up to try and get her down. _Maybe he still had time._

Kaito stepped into the room. Watching Koba for a moment before walking over to him. "Koba, what are you doing. She's dead."

"Th-The alarm hasn't went o-off yet. M-maybe she's still okay." Koba tugged at the rope, seeing that it was tied to one of the highest bookshelf. He couldn't reach the knot from where he stood, left to helplessly reach for it at the top. "Maybe we can save her."

"That's a worthless effort." Kaito remarked, walking over and scooping Niijima out of the air. He shifted through his pocket, removing a knife and cutting the rope and releasing Niijima from her swaying position. "But it's even more upsetting to watch you cry as you fumble with your dead friend's body."

Kaito gently set Niijima on the ground as Koba rubbed his eyes. Wiping the tears he didn't even know had formed in the corners of his eyes. Koba gently knelt down at her side. Part of him wanted to pretend she was still sleeping but he knew she was dead. Blood vessels had popped underneath her pale skin. Dotting her face almost like an array of freckles. Her neck had a long, dark bruise all the way around. Koba sniffled, wiping his eyes again as he stared down at his friend. He couldn't stop himself from thinking back to Sugai. All the blood that had surrounded his friend. For some reason, this quiet, silent state of death just felt more… familiar.

Sato burst in the room next, the Racer letting out an anguished scream before stumbling back out of the room. Cowering outside of the door. Koba could hear her sobbing, even through the door. Even though she had only been present for a moment the announcement still went off.

" _Looks like you guys finally found your friend's body! Took you long enough! Puhuhuhuhu! Hurry up and start investigating. Even though it's super late into the night we're still having the trial tonight. Buuuut, I'm gonna rush things a bit. I wanna get some sleep some time tonight_."

Koba felt… dizzy. The world felt as if it was swaying around him as he tried to comprehend everything around him. It all felt like some kind of sick dream, a dream he wished he could wake up from. His friend dead at his knees, silent as her last breath had escaped her blue lips some time before as she dangled from the bookshelf, alone.

But why? How could she have died here in this room alone? The door was locked tight. No one could have gotten in… and no one could have gotten out. Another mystery to solve. This time though, he knew he had help. Himura quietly walked in, kneeling down next to Koba as he went to look over the body. Together, he knew they could figure out what happened to Niijima.

At least Koba didn't have to do this alone this time. He imagined Himura was just as thankful for his help. Together, with their class they would make sure Niijima rested in peace. They would make sure no one else died tonight.


	20. Dangling By A Thread

Himura had almost expected this. The idea that they could all get along and live together in this place seemed like a distant wish. Everyone seemed to fall under the mastermind's manipulative words, crushed under the heavy responsibility that the revolting mascot had laid onto all of them. Life and death weighed on the shoulders of all the students. A dark realization of mortality that carried many burdens with it, burdens that no human should have to face.

He kneeled down next to Koba. Tears fell from the sk8rs face in heavy drops that splashed down onto the body being cradled in his arms. Though his face didn't match the thick tears that fell from it. It was scrunched up, pulled into a tight, determined expression. It wasn't the usual look of loss that came after every murder.

"Are you ready?" Koba quickly wiped tears from his face, sniffling as he tried to hold the rest of them back. More tears seemed to fall, making the gesture look fruitless, but Himura could see the scientist slowly collecting himself.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Himura stated, watching as the other student took a deep breath.

"Ha… same." Koba let out a weak chuckle before he leaned over Niijima. "Now, let's start investigating the body."

"You cut her down?" Luna was only in the library for a few moments before complaining. "You messed up the crime scene! You could have covered up important evidence."

"Don't worry Darlin'. I don't think removing her body from the bookshelf will change anything." Kaito remarked as he dragged his fingers through his hair. "Plus the rope is still in one piece so it can still be investigated."

"Fine…" Luna grumbled, still shooting a displeased look before she started her own investigation near the far wall. It looked like she wouldn't be interested in helping Himura if he was going to be working with Koba.

"You guys finally found the body! I was afraid I'd have to wait till morning for you idiots to figure out someone died!" Monokuma balanced all of the new Monokuma files in his hand. Himura wasn't looking forward to the pieces of junk. "Now, who's ready for their _Monokuma files_?"

"Uhg, those useless pieces of junk?" Bellerose mumbled, seemingly having the same idea as Himura as she peaked inside. "Can we just skip those?"

"No you can't just skip these _**crucial pieces of evidence**_!" Monokuma spouted, tossing everyone a file before managing to look even more insulted. "These are an important part of every trial! It would be inconsistent if I didn't hand them out."

Himura rolled his eyes, flipping his open as he wondered how Monokuma had even made them _sound_ important despite using almost the same exact tone of voice that sounded in his head when he figured out another puzzle piece. The screen lit up, showing the profile of Niijima as it highlighted the dark bruise on her neck. Nothing else on the profile seemed to point to any other wounds.

 _Niijima died from a broken neck. She was found locked inside the library alone._

"That's right." Koba said as he crammed the Monokuma file into his pocket. "Niijima was locked in here alone. If she was murdered how could they have locked the door from the inside?"

"Well, that's simple." Himura started. "You lock the door and then shut it behind you."

"Not possible." Kaito remarked. "That kind of door is a _**single cylinder deadlock**_ but it's made so that _**if you locked it with the door open and just shut it the lock just hits the door latch and remains open.**_ "

"So the door has to be closed in order to lock it?" Himura looked at the door in silence, noticing that it didn't seem to have a key hole on the other side. "Wait, why don't they have a keyhole on the outside."

"Budget Cuts." Monokuma walked over to the busted lock. "Plus I can get into any room I want soo locks don't really matter to me. Though it seems that these locks won't hold you back either Kaito."

"Please, I played a Martial Artist once. You pick up a few skills, even if you're just acting. It's no big deal." Kaito waved off Monokuma's prodding with a gentle wave.

"Oh yeah, I imagine that most _actors_ can kick do-" Monokuma started, only to be cut off as the door swung open.

"N-No tell me it's not Niijima!" Souda waddled in. His mechanical leg making horrible sounds after being pushed to its limit dragging its owner up three flights of stairs. When the mechanic finally laid his eyes on his dead student he recoiled back. His leg wasn't prepared, causing the teacher to fall back as it buckled under him. He was barely caught by Gundam, the other teacher standing close as the damaged teacher began to look sick sick. "No! She was getting better after the last murder… out of all the kids here she didn't deserve this!"

"None of them deserve this, Kazuichi." Hajime corrected. "That's why we have to handle this swiftly."

"Swiftly?" Kazuichi's eyes seemed to glaze over a bit. His eyes dilating as if he was _remembering_ something. The memories were probably flooding his head as he tried to force himself to speak. "We're all gonna die here… what's the point?"

"I shall escort him back to his room." Gundam spoke as he put one of the mechanic's arms over his shoulder. "I do not believe he can handle this stress at the moment."

"Well he better be ready by the trial!" Monokuma piped up, looking the room over with a quick glance. "Beeecause I need my beauty sleep! I'm not gonna stay up all night while you try and solve this murder."

"We'll go as fast as we can." Himura said as he turned back to Niijima's body.

"Besides, I'm pretty sure I can see what happened already." Koba said gently.

"Oh yeah?" Himura was interested in the idea that Koba had already figured this entire case out. He was supposed to be some kind of genius after all.

Koba nodded. "This has to be a suicide, right? She was locked in this room alone and hanging from the bookshelf. _**I think this is a pretty open and close case of suicide**_. Plus she displayed a lot of the symptoms. She was withdrawn, depressed, and often spoke like she didn't want to live anymore."

Himura hadn't expected those words to come up. The fact that all of their friends had been murdered so far made it hard to believe that one of their friends had just killed themselves.

"That's not too far fetched either." Makoto took a few steps forward, pounding his hands together as he fit more of the pieces together as well.. "Back during the first murder game, Sakura Oogami killed herself. We still held the trial. It was in a locked room as well."

"And if she committed suicide than no one else will have to die tonight!" Koba smiled. "A bright side to this tragedy."

"With sound logic like that you guys should just go ahead and start the trial." Monokuma mocked. "A guaranteed win."

"Shut up you overglorified stuffed toy." Sweeney grumbled before turning to Koba. "And you! Just because one idea sounds better doesn't mean you should fall for it. You need proof first. Otherwise someone is going to get away with murder. You're too nice for your own good Fumio, someone will take advantage of that someday."

"R-Right!" Koba almost jumped out of his skin as he looked back to the body. "I can't jump to conclusions. I need more evidence first."

"Well we still have to investigate the body." Himura suggested. "We have a lot to investigate in this room still too."

"You're right too!" Koba nodded before leaning back over Niijima's body. Himura watched as the skater took a deep breath. Koba's eyes quickly scanned over her, his eyes darting from every point as if they were picking out any particular oddities.

"Look at her fingertips." Koba spoke again, moving down to slowly lift her hand to show Himura the marks on her hand.

Himura leaned forward. Her flesh hand had _**bruises on the bottom of her fingers**_. A strip of darker, purple in a line across both her fingers. Himura went to check the other hand but it was all metal. That would never be bruised like the other one. But while Himura was observing her prosthetic, he saw something that caught his attention.

He gently moved his finger, hovering it over the buttons on her arm. They were familiar, mimicking those that had been on Kusonoki's Paranormal Voice Recorder. One had a large, red circle engraved into the center of it. That was the one that had caught Himura's attention because that button was lower than all of the others. He pressed it, the button making a soft click as it suddenly became taller than the rest.

"Woah! You broke it, homie!" Koba leaned forward, looking over the metal arm even more closely than before.

"Broke it? I didn't break it." Himura quickly defended himself.

"If the button is down like that it means _**that it's recording**_." Kaito spoke from his place high above the two other boys. "Have neither of you used an old voice recorder before?"

"Why would I?" Koba questioned before looking to the arm again. "But… does this mean that the arm was recording? And if it was, for how long?"

"There's only one way to find out." Himura sighed as he looked over the arm. "We'll have to play the sound back."

"The Famous Last Words of our dear Niijima." Kaito remarked as he placed a hand on his forehead, almost singing the last half of his phrase. " _I see you lying next to me, With words I thought I'd never speak, Awake and unafraid, Asleep or dead_."

"Are you really reciting fucking poetry right now?" Sweeney barked.

Kaito let out an airy chuckle as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Poetry? I just thought it was fitting."

"Alright, that's enough. We have to focus." Koba shouted, his eyes quickly turning back to the body in front of him.

"Fumio is right." Himura's finger hovered over the play button. "Let's be respectful and take a moment to listen to _**Niijima's final words**_."

Himura was almost afraid to hit the button, afraid to listen to the words that could be on this tape, but everyone was waiting for him to start the damn thing. Both Sweeney and Koba had their eyes glued to Himura's finger as if they suddenly could hear with them. Kaito still stood over everyone, leaning back gently as he waited. Taking a deep breath as he tried to compose himself Himura finally pushed the button down. A small ding playing before the recording finally rattled off.

 _There was silence first. And empty white noise exited the arm in an ominous beat. Her voice gently picked up, a soft whisper in the silence of the room. "I hope you're listening Kusonoki… I wanted to ask you if-"_

 _Her voice was overshadowed by a loud, mechanical sound. It was almost impossible to ignore as whatever it was sounded off. Niijima voice was still present but it was completely washed out by the mechanical whirl._

 _The sound quieted down but with this a quieter sound, a soft choking, followed. There was a pounding somewhere in the distance. The sound was hurried, rushed and panicked. Right when the loud, mechanical noise ended a loud, wooden cracking sound was heard before a loud, sickening snap. The pounding stopped and the white noise filled the emptiness left by the pounding. It filled the air for a long time…_

Himura eventually fast forwarded through the silence. The next sound being at least 45 minutes into the recording. It was the sound of Koba and Kaito breaking into the room, tearing open the door to find Niijima hanging.

Sweeney looked sick, paler than normal as he looked away from Niijima's dead body. Himura could see Luna across the room from them, the same disgusted look on her face as she tried to pretend she wasn't listening in. Even Kaito looked a little disturbed. But than there was Koba, the sk8r gave a short nod before standing to his feet.

"I think that's all we're going to get from her body, let's move on." Koba suggested, pulling himself to his feet with a drawn out sigh. "Next let's 'vestigate the book holder."

"You mean the bookshelf?" Kaito raised an eyebrow as he questioned Koba's wording.

"Isn't that what I said?" Koba asked back.

"That's not even close to what you said." Sweeney groaned.

"I'm pretty sure I said Bookshelf." Koba insisted.

"Oh come on, that's not what's important right now." Luna barked from across the room. "Move on from the body so I can do my own investigation."

"Alright. Cool your horses." Koba insisted as he went to trade places with the seamstress.

"Oh my god that's not how that expression works either! You're impossible!" Luna looked as if she might lose her mind at any moment.

Koba looked confused as he walked over to the bookshelf. Everyone letting Luna fume on her own as she hovered over Niijima's body. Koba was already messing with the bookcase by the time Himura waddled over. The barista glanced at the door, just barely noticing Iris and Bellerose slip into the room. The two glancing over at Luna before heading towards their friends at the bookcase.

"You guys okay?" Himura asked as they walked up to the already investing team.

"Yeah, we're fine but we're not so sure about Sato." Bellerose spoke up as she crossed her arms.

"We helped Sato and Mr. Souda to one of the classrooms so they could sit down… Mr. Souda is getting those memories back and Sato is angry… Mr. Tanaka is watching over them to make sure they don't get into trouble." Iris explained.

"Well I hope they're okay…" Himura mumbled before he turned back to look at Koba.

"Can we help?" Iris asked, causing Himura to turn back towards them. "I want to help this time. To figure out what happened to Niijima…"

"Yeah, you can help. We just started to investigate around here so look around and see if you notice anything important." Himura suggested.

"I still think it was a suicide." Koba explained. Himura looked back at him but almost jumped as he saw Koba trying to climb the bookshelf. "But I have no idea how she could have climbed this whole thing!"

Iris and Bellerose split up to help investigate the large, open library as Himura gawked up at Koba. The skater wasn't anywhere near where the top of the rope had been hanging, however.

"I also noticed that _**one of the shelves are missing.**_ " Koba began, pointing at the missing place on the shelf, then to the mess of books and broken wood on the floor.

"That's strange." Himura mumbled, pulling his eyes away from his climbing classmate to look at the mess. He noticed that they were all different books than he'd seen last time he visited the library. However there were so many books here it was hard to remember all of them.

"Who makes a library like this anyways." Bellerose remarked as she looked up over the towering shelves of books. "No one can reach those top shelves. They almost touch the ceiling of this room."

"I've been thinking about that too," Himura replied. "if this was supposed to be a student library, shouldn't the books be easy for students to access?"

"Yeah! Even a pro like me ca- WHOAAAAAAH!"

Koba was cut off as the bookcase let out a loud, mechanical sound. Everyone took a step back as the bookcases began to shift. They saw Koba cling to the bookshelf as the one he was on raised above the others, shifting all the ones above it below before taking the bottom shelf to the top.

"Wh-What just happened?" Koba barked as he dangled from the top shelf.

"Sorry! I didn't think it would make all of them move!" Iris spoke up from the wall where she stood. "But you were all talking about how the bookshelf looked impossible to use… I thought I'd show you how it works."

"How did you know it worked like that?" Himura asked.

"O-Oh! Niijima figured it out and showed it to me!" Iris explained. "You can put it on a timer too and it'll change on its own."

"Do you know what this means?" Koba asked as he hung dangerously close to the edge of one of the shelves. "Niijima could have tied the rope and then ordered the bookcase to go up. Id'all makes sense now. But how do I get down?"

"Climb down." Bellerose recommended. "It shouldn't be too-"

The shelf under Koba's foot snapped, causing his weight to shift before he started falling. Himura felt his heart race for a moment as the boy fell. A fall from that height could easily cause pretty bad damage. But Himura was too slow to react.

It looked like it might be the end for Koba before Iris worked her way right below the blond boy. Her tiny arms catching him before he hit the ground. She barely seemed affected as the plummeting student tumbled into her arms. It was a funny sight, the long, much taller Koba barely fit in the small girls arms. His legs dangling off the side and almost touching the ground.

"Those _**shelves don't seem very sturdy.**_ " Kaito started, he hadn't moved an inch in reaction to Koba's tumble. "Koba here barely weighs anything and yet the wood couldn't even hold him up."

"Th-thanks for the help." Koba barely got the wordsout as Iris gently set her lanky friend on the ground.

"No problem. I didn't want you to get hurt. Plus a fall from there would have broken something for sure!" Iris quickly added.

"You guys, look at what I found." Bellerose was at a side table near where Niijima's body had been dangling. One of her hands had a small piece of paper in it.

"What is it?" Himura questioned as he took another step closer.

Bellerose handed the paper over to Himura. The thin material was completely blank except for a single letter up in the corner. A shaky pen had scribbled a small I into the corner. The most notable thing was shrinkage in random spots on the page almost like water had dropped down onto it, ruining the crisp state of the parchment.

"It looks like… water was spilled on it." Himura said as he handed it back.

"Wouldn't be hard," Sweeney grumbled from the back of the group, "everyone here is kind of an idiot."

"Not gonna argue with that." Kaito let out a laugh as he rummaged through his shirt to retrieve a rose. "I focus on looks more than my mind."

"So… it's probably just _**trash**_." Himura said as he handed it back.

"You're probably right." Bellerose crumbled the piece of paper and tossed it into the trash. "Besides, after every note that's been written in this damn school, who would bother writing another."

"Good point. I wouldn't believe anything that shit said at this point." Sweeney added.

Himura looked over the scene more. He tried to find evidence of what might have happened, he even tried to find a secret way into the room, but the bookcase seemed to lead to nothing. A wall was built behind the damn thing, leading to an easy way to get smashed underneath it all. But, as Koba had accidently tested, the bookshelf wouldn't crush anyone underneath it. There must have been some kind of sensor to make sure it would never close when a student was underneath it.

"I don't know what else we should look at." Koba said finally. "I can't find anything else in this room."

"What a bummer." Luna said from across the room. "While you're all looking over that I'm gathering real evidence."

"This isn't a competition." Sweeney growled.

"Oh I know but every time we have one of these things everyone always relies on what Himura and Koba find. It's about time we had more than one pair of eyes finding all of our evidence. Doesn't that make you all nervous? If Himura **or** Koba was the killer, none of you know because they spoonfeed you all of the information." Luna seemed more to direct her comment towards Koba… or maybe she just gave Himura that impression because he knew of her doubts.

"We've always gathered our own information Luna. We just trust our friends." Kaito remarked, twirling a rose between his fingers. "And I believe in the words they bring into court with them."

"Well one of you is a traitor, remember that. One of you goes and talks to that thing after pretending to be our friend. Just remember, one of you isn't who they pretend to be." Luna warned, pausing as she glanced at the remaining teachers near the door. "And I believe you all should be working harder to route out the liar. I'm going to figure out who's helping that freak kill my friends. I'm gonna figure out who killed Hotta even if it means my death."

"That's not the kind of promise you want to make in a place like this." Komaeda remarked as Luna pushed past him to leave the room. "But in the end I must admire her determination. I was always a fan of their team, battling for Hope is so respectable. When I heard they were joining the school I was thrilled… well partially. Their leader gave my luck a horrible tip in frequency. It was quite dreadful."

"Ya! I remember when ya'd hide up in your room." Koba said with a grin. "You refused to be anywhere near her."

"Trust me, when you have my luck you don't want any more." Komaeda reassured.

"Speaking of hiding, last I checked you weren't supposed to leave your room." Bellerose questioned. "You were sick enough that Monokuma was willing to excuse you from events. What happened to that?"

"Let's just say I've been taking my medicine." Komaeda let out a chuckle as he dismissed the prodding questions. "But I have to admit I'm feeling better than I have been in years."

The teacher looked at one of his pale hands, his usually sweaty skin actually looked less… moist than usual. Hell, his skin almost held _color_. It was weird, seeing this ghost of a man look more like a human being.

Bellerose went to leave the room, walking past the group to move around the teachers. "No offense Himura but I can't handle your teacher. He's weird and creeps me out. I'm gonna investigate the rest of the rooms on my own. Plus… I might go check on Sato. Are you coming with me Iris?"

Everyone looked at the botanist just in time to see her pull her hand out of the trash. She had something cupped inside of them before she crammed it into her pocket. "Hhmmm no thanks! I think I'll stay with Himura this time."

Bellerose nodded, glancing over the other students before her eyes locked onto Makoto. "Sensei, will you walk me back to the dorms. I don't want to be alone after the murder."

Makoto jumped, obviously startled by the demanding tone on his student's voice. He didn't even hesitate, pulling himself together and nodding before following the tall figure out of the room.

"Now what?" Sweeney grumbled. "Where are you going to investigate next?"

"Honestly I have no idea." Himura admitted, unsure of what might else be important to this specific case.

"If you don't mind, may I make a suggestion?" Komaeda spoke up once again.

"Of course Cap'n!" Koba put a hand to his forehead like some kind of formal gesture.

"Captain? What a funny nickname to refer to someone as measly as me… but, as stated before I would recommend you investigate the gym." Komaeda's breath sounded like a wheeze, reminding the students of his usual, borderline dead condition.

"The...gym?" Iris spoke softly, pressing a finger to her bottom lip in thought. "But we've been there all night. Surely there's nothing important in there."

"Oh, but on the contrary my sweet, flower child. An important piece of evidence lays await in the gym." Komaeda held his arms out, making the scrawny man look a bit bigger. "You have to know what I'm referring to, right Himura?"

"The motive…" For some reason the teacher's cryptid words planted themselves directly into his brain with ease. "The motive is in the gym."

"Ya mean that wheel of misfortune? The one that was gonna pick which teacher would die?" Koba spoke like it was some kind of question but he seemed to be on the same page as everyone else. Guess that was another thing to work on with him, he'd look a lot less stupid if he didn't repeat everything he was asked.

"What kind of information could we find there?" Iris questioned. "Wouldn't Monokuma have put away the wheel by now?"

"Excuuuuuuse me but I would never _hide_ evidence!" Monokuma barked from his spot in the corner of the room, Himura had almost forgotten the thing was even in the room still. Usually he would have scurried off by now.

"H-Hey! You're still here?" Koba jumped in surprise.

"Wha-! You didn't see me! I've been here the whole time!" Monokuma huffed.

"Well usually you would have scuttered off by now." Himura stated as he looked over at bear. "Hiding away from what you've done is a hobby of yours, isn't it? You never stay in the murder room for long."

"Hiding? I don't hide! I love blood and guts! Death is something I _**live off of!**_ I, the blood-thirsty beast that I am, would never shy away from a gruesome death!" Monokuma's speech fell on deaf ears as the students left the room. The bear huffed, refusing to be ignored as he quickly waddled after all of them. "Hey! Don't ignore me!"

Himura sighed. So far he felt like they had barely found any information for this case. Just a bunch of empty clues with barely any meaning behind them. Facts strewn together like some kind of pointless game. But this might be it. He'd have to question his friends but at this point, what would they know. Koba's answer to all of it felt too hopeful. Like some sort of dream that was plausible but you would have to skip too many steps to get there. Valuable information felt like it was missing.

Hopefully this promise of information handed to them from Komaeda would be enough for them to sort through this issue. The Wheel of Misfortune was supposed to be their motive. But a game of chance didn't really narrow their choices down. But Komaeda seemed so sure that they'd find something important in the gymnasium. While it seemed impossible, he couldn't help but hope his teacher's words were sound.

At this point, he didn't know what else to do.

* * *

Tanaka listened as the other teacher let out another sob. For now, he had locked the door, keeping the two of them alone while the other grieved. He didn't want his friend to face any prodding questions, nor did he want Souda's last student to see her teacher in such overwhelming misery. The two's current level of despair could end up being the tipping point for either of them.

Gundam was well aware that Souda was receiving his own vehicle of memories. A painful ride on a world that felt familiar and forgotten, all at once.

Gundam felt a mixture of emotions in this moment. A dangerous cocktail of stress-induced pain caused by everything that was going on in this current case. He felt pity and fear for his friend as he laid on his own bed, occasionally making out the whimpers of distress, like a wounded animal. He felt sorrow for the student who had died, hung up from the ceiling like some kind of ornament. And finally an unwavering anger at whatever student committed this crime. He had reassured everyone so many times that they could handle whatever Monokuma had given him. And yet, someone didn't believe him.

The dark devas scurried around in his scarf. The small creatures picking up on his tense behavior and growing dark aura. He felt their small paws pressed against his cheeks in their attempt to comfort him.

"Y...You're still in here?" Souda coughed as he asked the question, his eyes locking onto the other teacher. His eyes seemed glazed over, empty of any true sense of where he was. "Shouldn't you be helping them investigate?"

"Nay, for I believe they can ha-"

"I hope they get it wrong… I just want this to all be over." Kazuichi sighed as he tried to sit up.

"Cease acting like a fool, Souda. You do not wish death upon our students and friends like that. You are grieving and it is making you more foolish than normal." Gundam shot back, appalled but not surprised at Kazuichi's words.

"I know! But- There isn't any way to force them to live either! Wouldn't it be better if it was all just… over? This has to be worse, waiting for your friends to just kill you! Waiting to die... Maybe it's just a simulation like last time. M-maybe Sugai and Niijima are okay. Maybe I'll die and just wake up in some weird pod with both my legs and they'll all be okay and-" Souda let out a sob before curling into the fetal position as he dragged his knees closer to his chest. "-and maybe this is just another nightmare."

Gundam hesitated. It was hard to decide what to say in these situations. Even harder when dealing with someone like Souda. His friend was always on the edge of losing himself into a spiraling pit of panic. It often made Gundam ponder over what must have made Kazuichi this way. The panicked behavior was present long before they were all tormented by the memory of the Killing School Trips. Worsened even more by the memories of being a Remnant of Despair. The panic attacks, the anxiety, it all only seemed to worsen for the pink-haired teacher. Being here in this school didn't help either. Trapped inside walls that forced him to battle with his own self hate.

Gundam felt the horrible nature of these events in his own way. Memories of horrible things he'd done. Bloody hands that could never be washed clean. The things he'd forced animals to do was disgusting. The blood he had shed made hum a monster that couldn't even look at himself in the mirror. He had always been disgusted with himself but lately… it was only worse.

"She probably killed herself so I didn't have to go through that damn maze again! She probably threw her life away for me… I feel sick. If I had died when I ha-" Souda groaned.

"Silence! Does one not understand the words I speak? We shall not surrender this battle yet! The chance for victo-"

"Oh shut up! I hear your nonsense, empty promises to make me feel better. But it isn't that easy! I'm sick of trying." Souda let out a tired, angry groan. "Can't you just let me alone to wallow in my own self pity for awhile?"

"I shall no-" Gundam raised his hand, clenching his fist with a determined gaze.

"Why are you hanging around? Buzz off! Go! Why don't you run off like everyone else?" Souda shot back, giving Gundam the same treatment as he cut him off mid sentence.

"I'm here because I don't know what you'll do to yourself if I leave you alone." Gundam finally spat out the words. "I am here with you because I care about you, fool! And a promise from the powerful Gundam Tanaka is not empty! I promised that I shall not allow Monokuma to harm you again and I shall fight with all of the power bestowed on me from hell to keep that monster away from you."

Souda paused, blinking for a moment. He was most likely more startled by the volume of Gundam's voice than the content. But the mechanic swallowed, turning his head to look at the wall with a sniffle.

"I lied when I said I wanted to be alone… thanks for staying." Souda rubbed his already red eyes as he tried to compose himself.

"I am aware. Did you really think you could lie to a Dark Lord?" Gundam laughed before sitting back down near Souda's bed.

"Uhg. You're so hammy." Souda sighed, leaning against the wall as another look of exhaustion washed over him. "But thanks."

Gundam didn't respond. He leaned against one of the walls, guarding his friend in silence. The quiet seemed to surround him, filling his lungs and choking him. He never wanted things to come to this. He'd rather be smashed under a cement block then let the students go through another trial. Yet here he was. He had failed as a teacher. Failed as a lord who was meant to protect his followers. That failure ate at him, chewing on his insides to create an empty, bottomless pit for the dark beast of regret to curl up inside of his gut. Taking a deep breath, Gundam tried to stay calm. Right now his friend needed his help. He needed to keep focus. He was not the one in pain at the moment.

Now he was needed as a protector. Though he had tried hard, it wasn't enough and he needed to just accept that. He tried to avoid the strangulation of the silence as he contemplated his current situation. Soon, hopefully, they'd discover some kind of hope.

* * *

"You just want me to spin it?" Koba yelled back down to Himura from next to the wheel of Misfortune.

"Yes, just hurry up and do it." Himura replied, unsure of why the skater was yelling from on top of the stage.

"Which way should I spin it?" Koba yelled again.

"Wha- does that really matter right now, Koba?" Himura asked.

"Does it?" Koba yelled again.

"No, it doesn't matter! Just fucking spin it." Sweeney was the next to yell. Himura felt drained from all of this shouting.

"I don't know how he can even touch that thing…" Carol covered her mouth as she watched in fear.

"It's simple. In the end, that thing is only a prop made to scare us." Himura answered without taking his eyes off of the wheel.

Koba spun it, putting in more force than was needed to turn the giant wheel. It spun fast, but even watching it spin, Himura could tell something was wrong. He'd seen plenty of similar wheels spin on tv shows and something felt off. Soon, the wheel's speed started to decrease. Slowly clicking as it neared its final choice. With a click, the pointer landed on _**Gundam Tanaka**_.

"This is scary! How does this help anything?" whined Iris as she looked even more uncomfortable.

"Spin it again." Sweeney suggested.

Koba nodded, spinning the wheel at full speed as the whole thing sent the ominous clicks around the room. Time slowly ticked by as they all watched to see what the wheel would land on. However, the result was the same as before.

As they kept trying the wheel, Himura noticed something. The wheel was weighed down, pulling one side closer to the bottom. It must have been heavier than the rest, which caused a certain side to always stay on the bottom.

"Koba, can you look at the back?" Himura said, stopping the other student as he was half way through another spin.

"Sure! What am I- hey! What's that!" Koba popped back up. "There's a weird thing wedged to the bottom of the wheel!"

"That's what I thought." Himura walked up to the wheel, pausing at the stage before sighing. He quickly tried to climb up, thankful it was a bit easier than it looked. Himura looked at the back, seeing the weird, black chunk of metal that had been crammed underneath one of the bars. "This wheel has been rigged."

"Rigged?" Iris gasped from back down off the stage. "What do you mean, rigged?"

"It's been tampered with." Himura explained. "It's made so the same person will always be on the bottom."

Himura looked, getting a gander of the wheel and who was directly below the chosen Gundam. He was surprised to see _**Makoto's face right below that of the animal breeder**_. The weight was directly behind his face.

"So Monokuma rigged this game from the start?" Iris questioned.

"Excuse me?" Monokuma huffed from near the entrance of the gym. Why the hell was he still here. "I didn't do that! Don't accuse me because _**one of you assholes messed with the thing**_!"

"So, do you know who did it?" Koba asked.

"Of course I know!" Monokuma barked. "But I'm not telling you who it was! That'll make the game to easy."

"Why didn't you stop them?" Sweeney questioned. It was a good point. Why would Monokuma let people mess with his plans.

"Because I didn't care _**who**_ was picked. No matter how it was changed, one of your teachers was gonna get it and that was enough for me!"

"Makes sense." Himura said as he went to look over the wheel once again. "No one could have messed with it in a way that would have saved all of the teachers."

"Exactly! So why waste my time babysitting all of you?" Monokuma nodded. "Besides, it's more dramatic this way!"

"Someone could indirectly kill another teacher this way." Kaito spoke up. "Oh, that would have been a dark turn of events."

"Yeah that's the point!" Monokuma was almost cheering at this point. "I don't care how you all die as long as it's exciting!"

Himura nodded. He'd somehow expected something like this. Monokuma always raved that he wanted things to always be bigger. The monster wanted these murders to be more exciting. Whats more exciting than watching children scramble to save the only positive adult figures in their life.

Swallowing the sick feeling that grew in his gut at the idea, Himura knelt down to look at the lodged piece of metal. It almost looked like a loose piece of scrap. Maybe the vandal had thought the stuff would be so worthless no one would even notice it was gone. Himura tried to pull it out but it was wedged in harder than Himura could pull. Whoever did this had the strength to make sure no one else tampered with their plan.

"And look at it! It's such an eyesore! If I wanted to rig the wheel it would look a lot nicer than some random chunk of metal!" Monokuma whined as he crossed his arms. "It would be built into the damn thing."

"We believe you so stop running your damn mouth." Sweeney groaned. "We all know by now that you didn't mess with the damn thing!"

"Well I'm just making sure!" Monokuma shouted. "I don't appreciate being blamed when I'm an innocent man."

"Can you leave?" Iris looked over, looking even more uncomfortable with the bear in the room. "I like it a lot better when your voice isn't giving me a migraine."

"Fine! You all hate me! I get it." Monokuma huffed as he crossed his arms. "But I'll be seeing all of you in a few minutes anyways."

The bear disappeared. Vanishing into the ground and leaving the students to finish this investigation. It was strange, usually the bear didn't follow them around like this. His presence was known the entire time. Himura wondered what the demented mascot had in mind with that kind of behavior.

"I'm glad he finally fucked off." Sweeney remarked.

"Yeah, me too." Kaito sighed. "His presence stresses me out. At this rate he's going to give me grey hairs!"

"I doubt that matters with how often you must dye your hair that bright red." Sweeney remarked.

"Sweety, that's called coloring your hair. And my hair is naturally this red." Kaito retorted as he dragged his fingers through his hair.

"Whatever. Whose hair is naturally that color?" Sweeney only seemed more annoyed.

"Me, a god of beauty." Kaito flipped his hair before taking a few paces away from the stage. "Himura, honey, what are we doing next?"

"The only thing that really is left." Himura sighed. "All we have left that we can do is gather witness testimonies."

"Who do you want to investigate first?" Sweeney asked.

"Well, did anyone see anything strange? Anything notable you think might be important." Himura questioned.

"A lot of us didn't leave our rooms." Sweeney answered. "But I had my door open while we were waiting for 10 p.m. to hit."

"I know Sato had her door open as well," Iris added.

"You were one of the people to leave your room, right Iris? Can you tell me what happened?" Himura asked.

Iris nodded. "Well, sitting in my room made me anxious so I went upstairs to the garden to calm myself down. On my way out, I remember passing in front of Sato's door. She asked me where I was going."

"And?" Himura wondered if that was all she had to say.

"And it seemed as if everyone was in their rooms when I passed. Nothing strange stood out to me. Though I do remember hearing someone talking to Sato _**after I had already left the area.**_ "

"Do you know who it was?" Sweeney asked.

"No, I only heard Sato's voice before I left through the door. I don't like the idea of listening to other people's conversations. That's rude." Iris admitted, though she looked a little defeated. "If I had known it would be so important I would have stayed and listened. _**Everyone has to go past her room to get to the stairs**_!"

"Don't beat yourself up about it." Koba jumped of the stage, stumbling a bit as he tried not to fall. "There's no way you could have known it was 'portant. The best we can do now his figure out who really did it! Sato will be a big help."

"Of course!" Iris burst back into her usual sunny personality. "We just have to try harder!"

"We'll just have to talk to Sato then." Himura added as he headed for the door. "She might have a better idea of what happened."

"I believe she went to her room," Iris continued, "before Bellerose and I left her alone she said she just wanted to lay down."

"Good. I don't think I can handle walking all the way back up those damn steps again." Himura rubbed his head, already feeling exhausted.

"Aw, I would have offered to carry you." Kaito smiled as he followed the group on their way to Sato's room.

"I wouldn't make you carry me up three flights of stairs." Himura couldn't help a small smile. "Though I do like the idea."

"I hoped you would." Kaito smiled as he matched his pace to Himura's.

Everyone walked down to one of the bedroom. Sato's door was closed, though that wasn't the first thing they all noticed. Almost like some kind of guard dog, Bellerose waited outside of the door. Her stern gaze turned, piercing through the other students like a knife as she seemed to warn them to stay away. Himura couldn't help but stop in his tracks at her deadly gaze. Everyone stopped, having second thoughts about approaching the door.

Everyone except Koba. The sk8r walked around everyone, looking unphased by her stern gaze. But when Koba took the first step out, Bellerose's threatening glare seemed to lighten, mellowing out as she watched Koba approach her. Even her posture shifted. It was no longer cut off but instead it was inviting.

"Bellerose, may we be allowed to see Sato… Himura believes she might have important information on what happened tonight." Koba's voice sounded gentler than normal. Less excited and more reassuring. It felt as if he was carefully picking his words.

"I will only allow you and Himura inside. A crowd of people asking questions might make her more upset." Bellerose started, shooting daggers in Himura's direction. Yet he felt like she was waiting for him to step forward. "You two are the least likely to bombard her with irrelevant questions."

"Thank ya Candi!" Koba smiled, "You keep up the good work."

Bellerose rolled her eyes as the two of them walked past yet Himura caught the playful look on her face as they passed. It was strange. Out of everyone in their class, Bellerose was the last person Himura expected Koba to befriend.

"Yo Sato, how ya holdin' up?" Koba blurted as the door was shut behind them.

Sato was on her bed, slowly turning as she saw them enter the room. The skin around her eyes was almost as red as her hair at this point. Himura also took this moment to look around the girl's room. Surprisingly he'd never stepped inside of the space before. The wall was covered in crooked posters of racers from around the world, posing with their cars. Himura was honestly surprised at the lack of sexy bikini girls pinned to her wall. Instead there were posters of women in beautiful dresses and even posters of women in traditional furisode kimonos that seemed more cute and fun.

"H-Hey Koba. What are you doing here?" Sato was obviously trying to pull herself together. Sitting up on her bed as she tried to look okay.

"We wanted to ask you a few questions." Himura said.

"About what?"

"Iris said you had the door open the entire time before the event. We were wondering who all you saw walk past." Himura continued.

"Oh, that's a good point. I guess people need to walk past my room to get upstairs." Sato seemed to think everything over. "But the only people I saw head upstairs were _**Iris and Niijima**_."

"You saw Niijima?" Koba questioned.

"Y-Yeah… now that I think about it, I was probably the last person to talk to her." Sato seemed to get more upset by the idea. "I had asked her where she was going. She said she wanted to do research in the library… I only let her go alone because no one I saw as a threat had walked past. I can't believe I let her go… and now she's dead because of it."

Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes as she seemed to be getting ready for another melt down.

"It's okay…" Koba tried to reassure her gently.

"It's not okay." Sato spoke up. "More and more of us keep dying for stupid reasons. At the end of this trial I'm still going to lose another friend."

"Maybe not." Koba hesitated before speaking. "Maybe… Maybe Niijima _**took her own life**_."

Sato looked angry, but she looked as if she was holding it inside. She huffed, taking a deep breath. "I don't believe that. Niijima would never kill herself."

"I think we got everything we need." Himura put a hand on Koba's shoulder as he went to lead him out of the room. "See you at the trial Sato."

"Good luck." Sato weakly called after them.

Bellerose shut the door behind them once they made their way into the hall. Himura felt as if they didn't have nearly as much evidence as usual. Just a few random facts tossed together to make out this case. So much felt like it was missing but time was running out. Maybe if they all hurried they could still gather a little bit more information before-

" _Good Evening everyone! It's time for the next Class Trial! Please head through the red door on the first floor and get in the elevator."_

Dammit! They really were out of time. He felt the eyes of his classmates dig into his skin, looking to him for answers to their friend's death. Yet he didn't have any at the moment. Only time would tell what would come of this case. Just like every other case so far, if they work together, they can solve what happened tonight. In the end they just had to wait. The blanks would slowly fill in as they walked.

This was it. Time to put the pieces together and solve the murder of _**The Ultimate DJ**_.


	21. FatherSon Bonding

Everyone was gathered in the room. Himura couldn't help but miss the first time they had all gathered here, He missed being packed together like sardines in the small room. Now they could each stand about a foot apart, they could stay away from each other and avoid each other without many problems.

Even after this tragedy it seemed most of the students had decided to stick together, staying close to each other's sides as they awaited the monster in the basement of the school. Luna was the only one to distance herself from the rest of the students, keeping herself near the door of the elevator as she kept her eyes glued forward. Bellerose stayed close to Sato, yet the two weren't avoiding everyone else's presence, everyone else seemed to be together in a small group. Together they'd scanned every inch of this school yet, none of them could agree on what was happening tonight.

As the teacher's entered the room, Himura could feel the disappointment and fear wash over the group. The adults that had been trying so hard to protect them, they put their lives on the line to keep them safe and the students couldn't even be civil for two fucking days. Instead, they all stood in the room with the people they had let down, blood dripping from their hands like the guilty monsters they were.

In a way, Himura couldn't help but feel guilty. Maybe if he hadn't been so busy spending the last of his time with Kaito maybe he'd have noticed Niijima as she made her walk up the stairs to her death. He quietly thought back to the cat mug that was back in his room. He would never be able to drink from it without thinking about how much he was going to miss her.

Souda looked like a disaster. The pink haired mechanic was leaned against his goth friend. He looked as if he was weak and frail. Maybe the loss his leg was finally catching up with him, maybe the horrible pain of losing a student who depended on him mixed with the trauma of his almost execution was churning into a heavy cocktail of emotions. A bomb that had finally detonated, leaving a mass of suffering within the mechanics chest. Sato didn't seem any better than her teacher, she was still clearly torn apart about almost losing him. Now she lost one of her close friends, another fellow student in her own friend group she had managed to make had just died. They both probably felt guilty, as if there was something they could have done about it.

Himura didn't know why he felt so… empty. The hollowed out pit inside of his chest ached as they all loaded themselves into the elevator. Himura thought he heard Monokuma speak but it went right over his head. Something about this case felt wrong. He remembered the way Niijima looked as she dangled from the ceiling, almost like a piece of meat, her life being bled from her as if it was some kind of sacrifice. Maybe the reason this case hurt so bad was because it felt so close to home.

Koba was constantly insisting this death was a suicide. Himura thought back to how with his friends, trapped in this school and awaiting death, they were some of the most vivid, enjoyable, days of his entire life. Never had he felt the need to _live_ like he did in this school. And it wasn't because he was looking death in the eye and changed his mind- no- it was something a lot more powerful and a lot cheesier than that.

He'd never had people who cared about him like he had here. He glanced over to his left, taking a moment to look at Koba as the beanstalk of a scientist went over all of the facts. Himura wasn't sure if he was talking to him or Sweeney but his words didn't make sense right now in Himura's state of mind. Himura knew that if something happened to him, the sk8er would miss him. That was more than he'd ever gotten from everyone before.

Then, on his right, there was Kaito. The beautiful actor was there, watching over him every moment he was in this school. He had someone he could depend on emotionally. He'd never had a stable connection like he did with the red head. Someone who was by his side, looking after him and who was so willing to sit through his bad days and even the days when he was at his very worst.

And then there was all of his other friends here, the friends he had made during this murder game were the kind of friends he needed his entire life. People who would actually miss him if he went missing or died. It was scary having the best thing he ever had in his life balanced on a tightrope. One bad step and everything he had ever dreamed off would fall into an empty abyss below them, swallowed up by the darkness this world seemed to present to them. It was overwhelming. Something like that was hard to stay calm about when considering everything that could happen. He felt the world trembling underneath his feet for a moment and he almost lost his balance.

Himura took a deep breath. Opening and closing his hands until he felt himself come back to the real world. Another deep breath and he felt himself back in the elevator as it slowly descended into the trial room. His friends slowly reappeared around him, helping him focus back into the situation at hand. A final breath brought him back fully. He couldn't lose himself in thought today, his friends needed him now, he had to stay focused for them.

"-And I also _**noticed scratches on the door**_ before Kaito broke the door open for me." Koba's words slowly made sense, his brain managing to jump into the middle of the conversation. "But I don't know what to think about that."

"Wh-what?" Himura mumbled out, unsure of where this conversation was headed. Was he even apart of it?

"Someone could have tried to pry the door open." Sweeney suggested, making it obvious that Himura wasn't apart of the discussion at the moment.

"Maybe…" Koba mumbled before looking at Himura. "What do you think, homie?"

"I'm not sure yet." Himura rubbed his neck. "I think we'll just have to wait until all the pieces are put together."

"Good point." Koba nodded as the elevator finally hit the bottom floor.

The door opened; the sound of screeching metal made Himura flinch before he headed out the door. He watched as everyone readied their ear pieces, popping in their color-coded communicators in silence. Himura paused as he went to put his in, remembering how last time he had removed his earpiece and refused to continue the game. Now he looked over everyone around him. Glancing at Monokuma before they all took their usual places at their pedestals.

"Aw, don't look so glum." Monokuma laughed. "It's time for the trial of Moeko Niijima. You all know how this works, right? Find the Blackened student hidden in your ranks by the end of the trial. If you guess wrong, everyone but the blackened dies. So, anyone want to bring in our opening statement."

"I can, Monokuma." Koba offered, putting a hand in the air almost as if he was in class. "Is there anyone here who thinks it wasn't a suicide?"

"Wh-What? What kind of way is that to start?" Sato looked almost appalled.

"I-I know, but I just want us to consider it…" Koba sighed, looking down at the ground for a moment. "I just want to make sure there's no other ideas on what could have happened."

"But Niijima never would have killed herself like that!" Sato argued back.

"But what else could have happened?" Bellerose asked Sato, a lot more gentle than usual. "She was locked alone inside that room. No one else could get in or out. What other options do we have?"

"Yeah but-" Sato tried to argue more.

"Not to mention the fact that she was displaying signs of suicidal ideation since Kusonoki died. We have to think this through." Bellerose continued.

"Dammit! I know! I know more than any of you about what she was going through. She talked to me about it. But she _**never would have done it like this.**_ " Sato nearly shouted.

"Huh?" Koba paused. "You said that once already. What do you mean?"

Now Himura felt a little curious as well. While this case felt open and close… something felt off at declaring it just a suicide. Monokuma was too _interested_ in this case for it to be something that could be solved in seconds. Himura felt as if there was something hidden underneath the surface. He hoped Sato had the answers they needed to either lead the case somewhere else or prove these suspicions wrong.

"I talked to Niijima shortly after Kusonoki died. I visited her a lot because I was worried about her." Sato started. "And she told me some things that completely contradict how she died tonight."

"Do you mind telling us?" Himura started. "Tell us every bit of what happened."

Seemed as if they finally had somewhere to start with this case. Of course it was only Sato's words but maybe this testimony could turn them in a different direction. With a deep breath he readied himself for what was about to come. This could potentially be game changing information.

"Okay, well it was a day or so after Kusonoki was murdered. I spent a lot of time with Niijima. I was worried since her almost girlfriend and two of her best friends had died." Sato started, rubbing her neck as she started her story.

"She told me that she had thought about suicide a few times." Sato continued but she was cut off.

"Than doesn't that alone prove it was a suicide?" Bellerose questioned.

"No, because the way she died didn't match what she told me!" Sato seemed even more determined to get through her confession. "She said if I did kill myself I would do it as a rebellion against the mastermind!"

"How would a suicide be a rebellion against Monokuma?" Sweeney questioned.

"Because she planned on making it such a cut dry suicide that there wouldn't be a trial! She said she'd _**leave tons of clues and tell at least one of us before it happened!**_ "

"And? What does that prove?" Kaito questioned.

"The fact that we're even doubting it proves Niijima didn't kill herself. If she died she wanted it to help forward us through this place. A trial-less case would really stick it to the mastermind. A boring trial where no one was executed and it only lasted a few moments! That would be a show of defiance!" Sato yelled as if she was afraid someone wouldn't hear her. She shouted with every bit of energy she had in her body.

"Yeah, but why would Monokuma care?" Bellerose questioned. "Doesn't he just want to see us all die? _**Does it really matter about the trials**_?"

Himura felt it. That moment where a weak spot in the testimony could easily be shattered by the truth. Something Monokuma had told them thousands of times.

"Of course it matters." Himura said, watching as all eyes narrowed in on him. He cleared his throat before continuing.

"Did you all forget what Monokuma has told us constantly? Why he likes these trials so much? _**It's because they're entertaining**_. If they were straight to the point, Monokuma would get bored. He'd hate the trial." Himura explained.

"You're right." Bellerose seemed to finally be on the same page. "I don't know how I could have missed that."

"So, it seems pretty obvious that there's evidence against a suicide." Koba sighed, taking a deep breath before looking at Sato. "And y'all sure about this? She didn't say a thing?"

"I swear on my life." Sato responded.

Koba sighed. He was trying to hide it but Himura saw the worried look on his face. It was only a flash of fear and Himura couldn't blame him. If Niijima didn't kill herself that meant someone else among them had to die. But faster than anyone else, Koba sprang back to life. "Then I trust ya, Sato! Let's move on to somethin' else. If she didn't kill herself we have to discuss who all had the chance to kill her. _**We have to hear everyone's alibis**_."

"The best we can do is go around from person to person." Kaito responded. "And have each one of us admit to what we were doing before 10."

"Sounds simple enough." Sweeney remarked. "Who will go first?"

"I can," Himura spoke up. "I was in my room the entire time. I was with Kaito, so he can vouch for me."

"I was with Himura, as my darlin' coffee boy just said." Kaito added.

"Well I went up the the garden. I was there until it was time to gather in the gym." Iris responded next.

"I was in my room." Sato went next. "I had my door open so I saw Niijima and Iris walk past my door to get upstairs. _**You have to pass in front of my door to get upstairs so I would have noticed anything strange**_."

"I was in my room the entire time." Sweeney added.

"Oh! Me too! And I saw Sweeney leave his room when it was time to meet, if that helps prove anything." Koba jumped a bit when it was his turn to speak.

"I was in my room too. I suggested it, after all." Bellerose stated.

Everyone's eyes turned to Luna. She was the last one who still had to share her final hours before the trial. However, she looked more lost in thought. She let out a chuckle as she realized they were waiting for her.

"Sorry but I have a problem with one of your testimonies." Luna started before pointing a finger in Sato's direction. "You said your room is the only way to the stairs. That's not true at all."

"What do you mean? Everyone goes through the main hall to get to the stairs." Sato explained.

"But it's not the only way. There's a big difference between choosing to do something and _having_ to do something. I don't know if all of you forgot but the dorms form in two halls. If you take the path on the opposite side you can go past the bathrooms and it'll take you towards the stairs. That leaves a big door open for anyone to sneak around you." Luna continued.

Himura knew something sounded off. Since he had always taken the main path out of the hall he completely forgot about the second path. Using the logic Luna had just presented it would have been easy for anyone to have slipped past Sato. The way they would have been headed she never would have known who walked past. With this, it made it impossible to dictate who could have done it.

"While that checks out," Bellerose started, "my room is on the other side. The only people who left their rooms were headed to the bigger restrooms. While I have no idea _why_ they would need to use those restrooms, they all came back in less than ten minutes."

"Well if we use this line of thinking there's only one person who could have done it." Luna moved to rub her own jaw in thought. "If Niijima didn't kill herself, the only other person who could have done it was Iris."

"She was the only other one not in her room-" Iris paused as she fully understood what was being said. "Wait a minute! That's me! I didn't murder Niijima."

"Haven't we done this before?" Sweeney groaned. "We all thought Iris killed Kentaro too. We all know she's not capable of murder."

"Before we get to the finger pointin', I think there's a more important question we need 'ta be askin'.'" Koba piped up. "If it wasn't a suicide, _**how**_ was Niijima killed?"

"She was hanged, it's not that hard to figure out." Luna retorted.

"No, he's got a good point." Sweeney remarked. "It is a little hard to hang a person on your own."

"Shit, I guess you're right." Luna rubbed her neck. "It would take a lot of effort to do it on your own. I honestly can't think of a way one person could hang another."

"Not to mention that there wasn't any sign of a struggle. Just a broken bookshelf that was too high up to be apart of a fight." Bellerose added.

"Does that mean it has to be a suicide? If someone else couldn't have done it _**what other options**_ are there." Luna puzzled over the options.

"Not to mention the fact that those bookshelves _**can't support the weight of a person**_." Kaito added. "They could barely handle someone as light as Koba without snapping under his weight."

"Are we really sure it's not a suicide? Maybe Niijima got scared Souda would die and hung herself last minute?" Luna suggested. "Maybe she didn't have as much time to plan it out as she originally thought."

"It can't be a suicide…" Sato sounded defeated. "But right now, I can't think of any other solutions."

Himura felt stumped as well. He tried to figure out a way someone could have hung Niijima up like that but he came up with nothing. Plus how could someone force another person to hang themselves. Himura tried to imagine up solutions to these puzzles but they all felt like impossible solutions. That rope was up too high for anyone to reach on their own, even if they stood up on the chairs.

Wait just a second… that was an important point. _**No one**_ could reach that high up the bookshelf.

"If the shelves are so weak, how was she hanging from them in the first place?" Bellerose questioned.

"Because the rope was tied to one of the dividers. Those are extremely sturdy. Plus the only reason the shelves seem to break is they can't support the weight of all those books and a person." Sweeney answered.

"I think we're all missing something _**important**_." Himura spoke over everyone, watching as he gathered every eye in the room. "Everyone seems to be missing an important key of information. No one could naturally reach where that rope was tied. Not even Niijima."

"Then _**how did they hang the rope from the bookshelf**_?" Iris asked.

"The answer to that is actually really simple." Himura proposed. "Remember the function with the bookcase? When activated, _**the bookshelves will switch with higher ones**_." The one on the bottom always gets taken to the very top of the shelves."

"You're right!" Koba burst out next. "When Iris turned it on I got carried all the way to the top! I almost died."

"Ha, and I'm supposed to be the dramatic one." Kaito remarked, pulling out another rose from his shirt.

"So the bookshelf has a mechanism that switches them around?" Sato pondered.

"That still doesn't solve anything." Bellerose objected." Sure, now we know _**how**_ they tied the rope but is everyone forgetting that the door was _**locked**_? No one could get inside that room. The most important _**how**_ here is how could someone have killed Niijima when she was locked alone in the room?"

"You're right! That is important." Sato spoke up.

"Do you think there's a _**secret passage**_ inside of the room?" Iris questioned.

"Or maybe someone just _**locked the door on their way out**_?" Sato suggested.

"Sorry darling but that's impossible." Kaito shook his head as he spoke, causing his curls of red hair to bounce. " _ **If someone triggers the lock before trying to close the door the lock will prevent it from closing**_."

"And what about a key?" Sato continued.

"There are no keys. Monokuma didn't make any." Himura answered.

"And we trust him?" Bellerose continued.

"What would I gain from lying? Hiding the murderer wouldn't benefit me at all. If you all died I want it to be because you were all too stupid to solve this case." Monokuma remarked.

"Plus we haven't found any evidence of a key in the school. Assuming there isn't one seems like the best idea right now." Himura confessed.

"I guess you're right." Bellerose gave a nod before looking at Sato, looking sorry for a moment before sighing. "Than there's only one solution to this. _**Niijima**_ _**locked herself in the library and killed herself."**_

"What! Candi! You know that she wouldn't have done it like this!" Sato shouted, enraged by Bellrose's statement.

"I know Sato but what other options are there?" Bellerose continued. " _ **There's no other way she could have died.**_ "

"No secret entrances and no keys mean limited access." Luna continued. "It makes it extremely unlikely anyone else could enter."

Himura could feel the other students coming to a final conclusion. They all seemed to be giving up on the idea of this being a murder. Sato still looked reluctant to believe the facts that they had gathered. She was glancing around as if she was hoping someone would give some new piece of evidence to latch onto.

"So, is that your answer?" Monokuma questioned. "Are you all ready to vote? To finally close this case?"

"Something doesn't feel right Himura…" Koba mumbled. "I know this is what I wanted but I feel like we're missing something."

"I agree…" Himura sighed before scratching his head. "But maybe we're just overthinking it because we're used to this being more complicated… maybe this is the answer."

Koba blinked, staring at him before tipping down his hat a bit. Himura could see him chomping into his own lip. He looked like he was thinking even harder than before. The scientist was obviously trying to force the answer out of him.

Was this really it?

Was this… the answer?

"Well? Let's get this show on the road!" Monokuma barked.

"How about you shut the fuck up." Sweeney snapped, lookingmore aggravated than usual.

"Excuse me?" Monokuma seemed a bit shaken by the sudden outburst.

"You heard me you discount Rilakkuma. Shut. Up. And for the rest of you I can't believe you're all this stupid. _**The answer has been right in front of you this entire time.**_ " Sweeney groaned before adjusting his glasses.

"Wh-What do ya mean?" Koba questioned.

"Didn't you guys fuck with the bookshelf? _**You can put the damn thing on a timer**_." Sweeney explained. "That way the bookshelves will switch whenever you want them to."

"W-Wait what?" Bellerose jumped. "Who all knew that?"

"I did! But I forgot." Iris admitted. "Learning that many controls at once is a lot to remember."

"I saw that as well," Luna said, "but I didn't think it would be important."

"Well how fuckin' stupid of you." Sweeney teased, a sneer crossing his face.

"How is that stupid? What does a timer have to do with anything?" Luna objected, her face turning a bit red. It was hard to tell if it was from embarrassment, anger, or even a mix of both.

"Well we already know that the killer used the mechanism to tie the rope onto the shelf but here's an idea. _**Maybe they used the mechanism to murder Niijima as well**_." Sweeney suggested.

"That makes sense!" Sato seemed to perk up. "When the shelves went up so would the rope. It could easily pull her up with it."

"Not to mention the fact the thing _**lurches upwards when it first starts.**_ " Bellerose suggested. "It scooped Koba off the ground before he could even react."

"But you're all missing an important key to this." Luna suggested. "Anyone can hear that things start up. It would even be louder than those damn headphones she always wears. She'd hear it start then move out of the way."

"There's a fatal flaw in that line of thinking." Himura suggested.

"What do you mean?" Luna stared them down. Her gaze hard as her gaze met Himura's.

"I mean that _**Niijima's Deaf**_ , Luna. She never would have heard it, even without her headphones." Himura explained.

"Y-You're right!" Luna put a hand to her forehead. "S-So what does this all mean."

"It means that the killer could have set the timer at any time… making it so that any of us could be the killer." Koba sighed, though a smile seemed to form a bit. A look of relief in this turmoil of a trial.

"This just gets us further away from the truth." Luna sounded worried. "It means any of us could be the killer… This is a horrible discovery!"

"Wrong again." Himura started. "I want you to take a deep breath. Relax. We're even closer to the truth now."

"How are we any closer?" Bellerose ran her fingers through her ponytail.

"Because now we only have to focus on the motive." Himura suggested. "With the idea of suicide out of the way we only have one reason someone would murder one of our friends. That's what we have to focus on next."

"You mean the threat to kill one of our teachers?" Bellerose questioned. "That doesn't really narrow it down."

"You're talking about the wheel, aren't you?" Iris questioned.

"That's exactly it, Iris." Himura smiled, glad someone was on the same page again. He couldn't help the spark in his chest as he began to unravel the mystery behind the DJ's death. There was a small thrill in digging through every fact to find the truth, a thrill that would help carry him and his friends to safety.

"You mean that death trap in the gym?" Bellerose questioned. "What's so important about that?"

"Well someone tampered with the wheel." Himura explained. "The wheel was tampered with in a way that made one side heavier. This caused that section of the wheel to _**always land on the bottom**_."

"W-Wait a minute!" Luna looked startled. "Who the hell fucked with the wheel? And how?"

"Well, _**it looked like they crammed a heavy piece of scrap metal into one of the pieces holding the back of the wheel together.**_ " Koba explained. "It coulda been dun by anybody! It was a real simple setup."

"The important information here is whose portrait they crammed the piece of metal behind." Bellerose asked. " _ **Who was one of us trying to save**_."

"The piece of metal was crammed behind Makoto Naegi's portrait." Himura explained.

"So that must mean Bellerose did it!" Iris exclaimed. "She's the only student left in Makoto's group."

"Me? I didn't do it!" Bellerose objected to the idea, looking annoyed that she even came up it this discussion. "I don't even know where I'd get the junk to do it."

"Candi… how could you kill Niijima?" Sato sniffled, the racer was ready to break into tears again. "I trusted you."

"Stop your babbling! I didn't do it. I wouldn't mess with some stupid wheel like that." Bellerose growled. "Plus I wouldn't kill someone to save a grown ass man who can handle himself. He _**told us not to kill for them**_ and unlike one of you idiots I listened to that rule."

"May I suggest another option?" Luna offered, her voice slowly grabbing everyone's attention.

"Another option?" Sweeney growled. "What do you have up your sleeve?"

"When you say it like that you make me sound like some kind of monster." Luna sounded hurt but brushed it off as she continued on. " _ **There's one more person here with a reason to try and save Makoto Naegi.**_ "

"And who would that be?" Himura questioned.

"That would be Kaito. Mr. Naegi is his dad, after all." Luna glared over at the red head.

"You're trying to pin this on lil' ol me?" Kaito didn't even seem worried. He twirled a rose between his fingers, looking at the brilliant red petals instead of the excruciatingly cold glares of his classmates.

"Not pin. I know you did this. Who wouldn't want to save their dad from death?" Luna smiled as she spoke.

"Wh- hey! That's ridiculous. Kaito didn't even have the time to mess with the wheel." Himura objected. "Besides he-"

" believe you used your position as Himura's boyfriend to get away with it! You knew Himura would never suspect you!" Luna shared her suspicions, pointing her finger directly at Kaito with a determined glare.

" _Puhuhuhu…_ "

"What's so funny?" Luna jumped at the sound of Monokuma's sudden laugh. "Kaito has _**the motive, the ability, and the time to-"**_

" _HUHUHUHU_!" Monokuma burst into an uproar of laughter. Holding his gross little gut as the sound erupted out of him. " _PUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA! HAHAHAHA! PUHUHU! HAHA!_ "

"Why is this so funny? I don't get it?" Luna growled.

"This sure doesn't feel like the time to laugh." Sato mumbled.

"I think I know why he's laughing." Bellerose grumbled.

"What? Then spit it out." Luna was getting in her last nerve at this point, her fists clenched tightly against her chest.

"Well… almost everyone else has noticed." Bellerose explained. "But Kaito has been at Himura's side for the past few days."

"But he must have had so-" Luna objected.

"Nope. Whenever he's not with Himura he's in his room with the door locked." Iris added. "I tried to talk to him but…"

"That can't be, Maybe he messed with the wheel earlier than yesterday? What if-" Luna objected.

"Enough of this! There's an even dumber line of thinking to this part of the questioning that none of you are even thinking of." Sweeney growled. "The reason Monokuma is laughing at you all is probably because tampering with the wheel doesn't give Kaito a motive to kill!"

"What do you mean?" Iris questioned. "Makoto is his dad!"

"Y-Yeah, of course that's a reason to suspect him." Sweeney's tone softened for a moment as he responded to Iris. Though the sharpness came back in the second half. "But even if Kaito _**did**_ tamper with the wheel he wouldn't have a reason to murder anyone anymore.

"Because Makoto was safe…' Koba finished the idea, glancing over at Sweeney as he got the artist's point. "Makoto Naegi was safe from execution because landed on the bottom every time. There would be no reason to kill anyone anymore."

"Finally, someone gets it." Sweeney sighed, crossing his arms as he glared at everyone in the room.

"Just to be fair, I didn't mess with the wheel." Kaito remarked, leaning over the pedestal. "My dad is the Ultimate Lucky Student. He wouldn't have gotten picked either way. And if he did his luck would get him out alive."

"Then who did mess with the wheel?" Luna questioned.

"Well, there's only one person in this school who has scrap metal on them at almost all times." Sweeney answered.

"You're not suggesting that Souda-" Sato gasped, covering her mouth.

"No. I don't see a reason why Souda would mess with the wheel." Bellerose objected.

"It must have been someone who has access to his stuff. Someone who could easily get into his room and borrow the metal without the teacher batting an eyelash." Sweeney continued.

"Well it couldn't have been me!" Sato remarked as all eyes turned to her. "Souda never let's me touch his cool mechanics stuff. _**He says he doesn't trust students with it**_."

"But that means a student couldn't have taken the metal without Souda noticing." Bellerose concluded.

"Maybe someone grabbed it while he was outside of his room?" Iris suggested.

"Not possible. Souda has been bedridden ever since that stupid game smashed his leg!" Sato growled. "He rarely leaves his room."

"Besides, those doors only open for teachers and their own students." Himura reminded them.

"Wait! That only gives us 1 option!" Koba blurted out. "The only otha' person who could have taken sum of Souda's scrap metal is _**another teacher!**_ "

"Wait! But if a teacher did something, how can we question them about it?" Luna inquired. "Talking through all of the other students is just going to be difficult."

"I guess you found a flaw in my wonderful set up." Monokuma sighed, looking as if he might shed some crocodile tears. "But because of my mistake I will allow you to summon one teacher from their room"

"Wh-What? Really?" Iris jumped in surprise, covering her mouth in awe.

"But be careful. I'm only gonna let you pick one. If you happen to call the wrong one you'll just have to deal with your mistake." Monokuma warned.

"I think we should ask Souda to step down." Sato suggested. "He'll know who stole the piece of metal."

"I think we should bring down Makoto." Luna offered. "He was the Ultimate Hope, after all."

"I'd like to see Gundam." Iris whimpered. "I'm scared."

"Wouldn't Hajime know what to do?" Bellerose questioned. "He's supposed to be good at this."

"Komaeda will know what to do." Koba offered. "Let's ask for Komaeda."

"What a pickle we're in." Kaito remarked. "we can only pick one teacher and everyone wants someone different."

"Who do you think we should call?" Himura asked.

"Oh, I think you _**know**_ who we should call." Kaito answered, gently kissing his rose. "You know exactly who to call, don't you Himura?"

"I think so." Himura sighed, rubbing his neck. He was nervous. Afraid to take the wrong step in this case and cause the killer to get away. But he felt a strong resided inside of him. Part of him _**did know who to call**_. It was only a hunch at this point but a hunch was better than anything else. Taking a deep breath he decided on who needed to come and stand with the students.

"Well, have you made a choice?" Monokuma questioned. "I don't have all day."

"I do know who to call to testify." Himura took another deep breath. He didn't feel as if he was headed in the wrong direction. He couldn't falter now. He had to follow his intuition. "I wish to call Gundam Tanaka down to testify in the incident!"

"Tanaka!" Luna grumbled. "Himura you absolutely ruined the one chance we had! What is that adult chuunibyou going to do other than run us around in circles?"

"Yay! Master Gundam is coming!" Iris cheered.

"I'm all for making Iris happy but are you sure this is the right choice?" Koba asked, looking worried as they heard the doors near the entrance buzz and open. "Is Gundam Tanaka really the person we need to be talking to?"

"He's exactly who we need to be talking to." Himura nodded.

The teacher slowly cascaded down the stairs, his long scarf following him in a parade of royal purple fabric. His heterochromatic eyes seemed to eerily glow in the strange light of the courtroom. The teacher took long strides, reaching one of the podiums in only a few seconds. The neck of his scarf was pulled over his mouth, covering it from sight as he only seemed to stare down Monokuma.

"Good Evening Gundam! So happy to have you here with us tonight!" Monokuma laughed, hitting a button and lowering the portrait of Kusonoki into the ground. "Go ahead, step up to the plate. For some reason, Himura here believes you might have some answers to his burning questions."

"Is that so?" Gundam lifted his head from his hood as a almost sneer like grin crossed his lips. "You have summoned this dark lord to battle. Do not waste my time or you shall be punished!"

"Mr. Tanaka! I'm so glad you're here!" Iris shouted from her spot.

"Iris, follower of the ways of the darkened vale! Fear will no longer reside in your heart for I, the Great Gundam Tanaka shall vanish it from your heart!" Gundam sounded as if he was boasting, raising his hand in triumph as he grinned.

"Please, try to stay focused Master Tanaka." Sweeney sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke. "We have important questions we need you to answer."

"I am unaware of why you chose to summon me for this task." Gundam exclaimed, his eyes glancing over everyone before locking onto Himura. "But I shall try and assist as much as I am able!"

"Good to hear." Himura started, taking a deep breath. He had an idea. Something he still wasn't sure if he should follow. But how much longer could he just stare forward and hope it was true. The only way he could ever be sure would be to pursue it. So far, this was the only lead they had in this case. If he didn't work on it now, the entire thing might dry up into nothing. Monokuma had laid this opportunity directly into his lap. Gifts from that monster were rare so wasting it wasn't an option.

"Now speak, mortal!" Gundam clenched his fist as he spoke, his eyes narrowing down on Himura.

"Why did you tamper with the wheel?" Himura asked, feeling his mouth go dry as he saw the teacher's expression lighten. "Why would you rig the wheel to always land on you?"

"Wh- You think I tampered with the wheel? What would give you such a preposterous idea?" Gundam exclaimed.

"I don't _**think**_ you tampered with the wheel I know you did." Himura sighed, the reaction the teacher gave was telling enough. Himura could see the sweat dripping down his face. It was hard to notice against his pale skin but small drops of sweat were slowly forming on his brow.

"And how would I, the Overlord of Ice, benefit from such chaos?" Tanaka tested him. Himura wasn't sure what he was trying to hide from him. Guess the only thing he had left at this point was to dig deeper for the truth.

"I don't know, I was hoping you could tell me." Himura sighed. "But you're the only one who could have _**stolen scrap metal from Souda and went unnoticed**_."

"Anyone cou-" Gundam started.

"No! Not anyone! I know Souda doesn't like people touching his stuff! He really trusts you though." Sato whimpered, covering her mouth as she stared at him. "You've been in his room constantly. You could have easily stolen the materials."

" _Ah. It's all making sense now."_ Komaeda was practically whispering in Himura's ear. He couldn't stop the hard shiver that ran up his spine. " _I wondered who had tampered with the wheel when I was investigating but now it all makes sense. Hahahahaha… this is just like Tanaka."_

"What do you mean, Capt'n?" Koba asked gently.

" _Did you know, out of all of us, Gundam was the only one who committed a murder?"_

"Wh-What? He killed someone?" Koba stuttered. Himura couldn't help but stare at the dark figure across the room. The sudden realization seemed to make the shadows on his body grow harsher and darker.

" _Ah yes. The motive was that if we didn't kill someone we would all starve to death. Gundam was the one to kill someone."_

"You're right, everything is making sense now." Himura sighed as some more of the pieces seemed to come together.

Koba looked distraught. He swallowed hard as he leaned forward a bit, pressing his hands onto his podium and curling his fingers into the wood as he tried to steady himself. Himura watched before the Sk8r suddenly whipped his head upwards, tears forming in the corner of his eyes.

"You did it to protect y-your friends, didn't you?" Koba was trying not to burst into tears on the spot. "You rigged the game so that _**no matter what you were chosen! That way your friends would be safe!**_ "

"That's hardcore." Bellerose mumbled. "Throwing away your life for your friends is one way to show dedication."

"An edgelord like you sacrificing yourself for others is pretty surprising." Luna looked as if she was glaring daggers into Gundam. "But wouldn't Monokuma stop someone from tampering with his game?"

"Puhuhu. Haven't you been paying attention? _**I don't care who it is as long as it's interesting**_. Watching your teachers sacrifice themselves and the despair that fills all of you up is totally exciting!" Monokuma sounded like some creepy, broken record at this point. Always repeating the same garbage.

"But why?" Sweeney spoke up, looking angry as he pounded his fist onto the podium to grab everyone's attention. His face was contorted into an expression of anger and betrayal. "Why did you decide you're the one who would have to die?"

"The powers that are bounded by this corporeal prison could easily disarm any attack Monokuma dare placed on me." Gundam answered, raising his chin slightly as he tried to look sure of himself. But Himura picked up on the strange lack of eye contact towards the student. Instead, his eyes darted around, almost as if he was afraid to look at him. "I, The Powerful Lord Tanaka would certainly come out unsca-"

"The real reason!" Sweeney barked. "Give me the fucking real reason!"

"It is true that I contain abilities beyond your imagination." Gundam paused, his eyes finally landing on Sweeney. Gundam almost seemed to deflate, the strong exterior melting for a moment as his hands dropped to his side. Suddenly, the usually strong teacher looked exhausted. "But it is also not the reason I picked myself to die."

"Wh-What?" Iris whimpered out. Himura noticed her tiny hands shaking before she pressed them together. Maybe it was all an attempt to make herself calm down. "S-So you really were going to sacrifice yourself?"

"...Yes." Gundam admitted, lowering his head as he watched his hamsters crawl out of his scarf. Some of them hopped into the palm of his hand, giving him a chance to sorrowfully stare at them, almost as if he was asking them for forgiveness. "I chose myself because I made an oath to Kazuichi that _**he will not have to be in one of those games ever again**_. Soon, it occurred to me that if nothing was done, Komaeda would be the next to sacrifice themselves. It is in his blood to lay on the ground and be stomped into the mud. However I could not let that happen either! They have a daughter they must return to after this. I could _**never**_ face and tell her that I let her parents suffer in this wretched hellscape... So I decided that I was the one who could perish for the sake of my companions."

"Well, as sad as this is, now a lot of things are really obvious." Kaito remarked, looking at Himura with a small smirk. "We've really slimmed down the choices, huh?"

Himura sighed. This really did make it more obvious who the killer was. They had suddenly went from eight whole choices to just a narrow two. Looking up, he felt like he already knew whose name to call, but it seemed first he would have to prove it to everyone else.

"So, this makes it pretty obvious who killed Niijima. Our options have been narrowed down to two stu-"

"Keheheheh, such a fool." Gundam spoke, back to his mysterious, shadowed form.

"Excuse me?" Himura was confused by the sudden outburst.

"You mortals still think _**a student**_ performed this task?" Gundam laughed, his hamsters ran back up to hide in his scarf as he clenched his fist. "I, The great and Powerful Tanaka, am _**the killer**_!"

"Wh-What?" Sato jumped as she looked around.

"That can't be true? Why would you kill Niijima?" Luna looked more irritated than anything.

"Is that even allowed?" Sweeney asked, glancing back at Monokuma. "Is a teacher allowed to kill or can we just end this charade now?"

"Well it isn't against the rules." Monokuma looked as if he was trying not to laugh.

"Mr. Tanaka! Why would you kill my friend?" Iris' eyes began to water, her soft, round face began to scrunch up. "I trusted you! D-did you really hurt Niijima?"

"I-," The sweat on Gundam's brow seemed to return immediately.

"You're not a very good actor, Tanaka." Kaito teased. "You should give up the act before you hurt her feelings and scar her forever."

"But… It is true! I-" Gundam started.

Iris whimpered more, a large, thick tear streamed down her cheek. Her skin seemed to turn pink as she sniffled and desperately tried to wipe the tears away with her shaking hand. She was most likely moments before vocally sobbing.

"I… did not commit the murder." Gundam sighed, rubbing his neck as he looked guilty.

"I'm glad that ended quickly." Himura sighed. "Protecting people like that in this game is dangerous, Tanaka. You should know that."

"So now we can finally continue on with the trial?" Luna questioned. "Because I think it's pretty obvious who it is."

"As do I." Himura added, glancing at Koba only to see the confused look on the scientist's face.

"You know who did it…?" Koba asked gently.

"You don't?" Himura asked back, surprised to see that he hadn't figured it out. He watched as Koba just shook his head and looked forward.

"It was obviously _**Iris**_!" Luna pointed her finger at the Botanist, a smirk spreading over her face. "She obviously loves her teacher the most out of the two! She was just crying at the thought of him being the murderer."

"You do have a point." Bellerose added. "Anytime you talk to her _**she's always talking about how much she loves Gundam**_ …"

"Don't be so stupid!" Sweeney objected. "she wouldn't even hurt a fly!"

"Yeah, but she also _**knew about the bookshelf mechanism**_ before anyone else." Sato added.

"Plus, she has _**all the reasons needed to be the killer.**_ " Luna finished, crossing her arms before glancing at Iris. "Isn't that right, Carol?"

"N-No!" Iris objected. "I wouldn't kill Niijima."

Himura didn't think they'd try to drag Iris through the mud one last time. Did they really not see the obvious set up that was laid out before them. It was almost like they looked directly past the answer and to some false answer. Himura had to think of a counter argument fast. Otherwise they would lose this battle for sure.

"What're ya' all doin?" Koba blurted. "It's so obvious Iris wouldn't have killed someone to save Gundam."

"Excuse me?" Luna paused, looking at Koba. "You better have some evidence for that."

"I do, it's been right in front of us this entire time." Koba explained. "Iris never would have killed someone to keep Gundam safe because _**she believes him when he says he has powers**_. Think back to all the times we've brought up the fear of losing our teachers. Iris was never more than nervous because _**Gundam told her it would be okay. That his supernatural abilities would get him out of there unscathed**_ and that's what she told us every time."

"How do we know that wasn't a front?" Luna asked. "I doubt it's too hard to play up that innocent act for a while, right? She could have just been pretending to be that naive so she didn't look guilty."

"You don't have proof that it's like that!" Koba retorted.

"And you don't have proof that I'm wrong!" Luna shot back.

" _ **Stop it!**_ " Iris shouted, her eyes were red at this point, most likely from the countless amount of tears she had quickly rubbed from her face. Her cute face was covered in tears and snot that streamed down it in globse. "O-Of course I believe Mr. Tanaka! I-I saw them! I've seen _**what he can do**_!"

"What are you talking about?" Sweeney looked at her like she was speaking in another language.

" _ **Back during the tragedy, I saw it.**_ I believe in his abilities because I saw them in use… Gundam's powers killed my parents." Iris hugged herself, frowning as she looked like she was trying to hold in more tears. "I know he was different back then… My grandma told me many times of the _**Remnants of Despair**_ and how it was a big change in the world when they suddenly switched sides… But I still vaguely remember that day…"

"Is that enough proof for you, Luna?" Kaito asked. "Poor girl has to live with her grammy now and you're prodding her on why she believes in such _childish_ things."

"But! I don't understand then. Why did you _**take evidence from the trash**_?" Luna questioned.

"Oh… you mean this?" Iris pulled a picture from her pocket. Even from here, Himura could see a chunk had been ripped off. Iris held it up enough to show the picture of Gundam. The picture had the rip down one of Gundam's side almost as if someone's image had been removed from the picture. "I found it in the trash. I thought it was cute so I kept it."

"But, that only leaves-"

Luna's voice was cut short by the loud laughter of Sweeney. Everyone's eyes shot to the tattoo artist as he glared over everyone. His expression felt menacing. Cold and collected as he looked everyone over.

"SO YOU _**DUMB FUCKERS**_ FINALLY FIGURED IT OUT?" Sweeney was practically shouting. "IT WAS I! _**I KILLED NIIJIMA**_. I SET UP THE TRAP IN THE LIBRARY AND WAITED FOR IT TO CATCH WHOEVER WAS STUPID ENOUGH TO WANDER INTO MY TRAP!"

"Wh-What?" Koba looked startled. "Why are you yelling."

"BECAUSE YOU FUCKERS ARE GONNA TRY AND ACT LIKE I DID THIS OUT OF _**LOVE**_ OR SOME DUMB SHIT! I WANT YOU ALL TO KNOW THAT _**I'M A HEARTLESS**_ KILLER! A MONSTER! I DID THIS BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FUN!"

"Fun? How could murdering Kusonoki be fun?" Sato was on edge now, slamming her hands onto the table. "You sick freak!"

"I thought you were my friend, Sweeney." Iris whimpered. "Why are you acting like this?"

"BECAUSE I'M NOT YOUR FRIEND! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO MURDER! _**I HAVE NO INTEREST IN ANY OF YOU**_!" Sweeney bellowed.

"Well, is that it? Are you all ready to vote?" Monokuma asked, placing his paw to his mouth as he looked everyone over.

Himura paused. The answer was right. If they voted right now, he was sure they would have the right answer to the trial. Sweeney would be punished and they could all move on with this. But the was Sweeney was acting didn't sit right in Himura's gut. It made it churn and writhe with an uneasy feeling that he couldn't quite understand. While they had all of the facts it definitely felt as if something was missing. He couldn't let it stop here. It would bother him for the rest of his life if he never knew what Sweeney was hiding.

"I want to keep investigatin'," Koba spoke before Himura had the chance, looking determined as he stared over at Sweeney. "Nun of this makes any sense to me!"

"OH YEAH? HOW SO?" Sweeney sounded as if he was testing him.

"Because I know you're not evil." Koba gently rubbed his hands together. "Sure you pick on me and you get annoyed easily but you're nowhere near evil."

"DON'T YOU GET IT? I'VE BEEN FAKING IT THIS ENTIRE TIME! I CAN'T STAND _**ANY**_ OF YOU." Sweeney was practically drooling as he laughed, squeezing his head between his hands as he gained a hideous grin.

"That's not true!" Koba retorted. "And I'm gonna prove you're lying!"

"H-He's lying?" Sato questioned.

"Yes, the Sweeney I know isn't like this… for some reason he's fakin' all of this… I don't know why but I need to know." Koba's voice was shaky as he looked up at the tattoo artist. "This isn't right."

"I DON'T GET WHY YOU'RE TRYING TO ACT LIKE THIS IS A SURPRISE. I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A JERK, ESPECIALLY TO YOU!" Sweeney sneered as he looked Koba dead in the eyes. " _ **I'VE NEVER CARED ABOUT YOU OR ANYONE ELSE**_ IN THIS STUPID SCHOOL! YOU'RE ALL IDIOTS."

"That's not true!" Koba shouted as he pointed his finger at Sweeney. "Just earlier today you proved that wasn't true! You gave me important advice and just a few minutes ago you refused to hurt Iris' feelings."

Sweeney looked unchanged at first. The menacing grin still plastered onto his round face. His eyes wild with something Himura had a hard time placing. But then he saw it, a single drop of sweat riding it's way down the side of his face from his brow down the side of his face.

" _ **WELL I WISH YOU HAD ALL DIED**_. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE IF OLD TANAKA HAD TAKEN THE BLAME! THEN YOU ALL WOULD HAVE PERISHED."

" _ **Then why did you help us**_? Each time the trial got stuck… you gave us the crucial piece of evidence we needed to go forward." Koba spoke gently. His voice was slowly cracking, almost as if someone was beating on an old window. With each new blow, more cracks began to form. "We wouldn't have figured out it was you without your help."

"That's true. I didn't think it was you because you were _**helping**_ us. What kind of murderer helps himself get caught?" Luna added to the case.

Himura could see the second trail of sweat gliding down the side of his face. Whatever they were trying to do, Himura could tell it was working.

"FUCK YOU! I ONLY HELPED YOU BECAUSE _**I WANTED YOU ALL TO KNOW HOW EVIL I AM!**_ "

"Then why not just _**tell us**_ that you were the murderer?" Bellerose questioned. "It would be even more devastating to find out like that. Having you announce it like that."

"Oh! The answer to that is easy!" Monokuma spoke up for a moment. "I told him he wasn't _**allowed**_ to tell you all."

"What? How could you keep him from telling us?" Himura questioned, though he felt as if he was only talking to Monokuma. "He'd have been executed for the crime either way so what could you have threatened him with to keep him from telling?"

"Well, I told the murderer that if they told anyone they were the killer then _**their teacher would go through the punishment anyways**_." Monokuma explained.

"Is that why you didn't tell us?" Iris asked, her voice was almost a gentle whisper. "You didn't want to get Mr. Gundam hurt."

Sweeney smashed his hands on the podium. Enough to bruise them later. This facade was shattering right before their eyes. The tattoo artist's eyes began to swell. Himura couldn't help but notice that something was moving along Sweeney's collar almost as if something was crawling around the collar of his shirt. " _ **I DON'T CARE ABOUT GUNDAM TANAKA!**_ I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYONE!"

"Monokuma… I have one last question for you." Kaito asked, leaning over his podium with a curious look spread over his face.

"What is it beautiful? Finally decided to ask something useful?" Monokuma could barely keep himself from laughing at his own remark.

" _ **Did you erase the memories of his hamsters**_?"

"Did I what? Of course not! Not like they could tell you anything useful. Besides it would be easier to kill a hamster than erase its memories." Monokuma huffed, looking irritated at the question.

"Why did you ask him that?" Himura questioned, looking over at Kaito with a confused expression.

" _ **Seemed like the last piece of the puzzle Koba needed**_." Kaito remarked, pointing at the sk8r for a moment.

Himura's eyes followed Kaito's finger until his gaze landed on Koba. The brightly coloured student's eyes were red. His eyes were already glossy as his teeth gritted together for a moment. Every one of his muscles were tight almost like a rubber band stretched to it's limits. He was trembling, shaking before that rubber band finally snapped under all the pressure.

"That's not true either… You have his name on one of your sleeves… and the hamsters like you… and that picture Iris had. You stole that from him office. I watched you do it."

"I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" Sweeney sweat more. Himura wondered how long it would take for him to snap as well.

"You saw Gundam rig the wheel and you knew he was gonna die… so you got worried." Koba sighed, slowly recalling the events.

"NoT TruE! I dON't CAre!" Sweeney covered his ears but Koba already had him cornered.

"You knew if someone didn't do anything Gundam would end up like Souda… or worse. You couldn't let that happen. Back when we discovered the teacher's room you stole something from inside… I never realized what it was until now. You stole that picture from his desk because it was _**of you and Tanaka.**_ "

"Sh-shut up! KoBa SHuT uP!" Sweeney barked but his voice was cracking. Breaking and crumbling apart as he was about to break into tears.

"And then you killed Niijima. You would have just told us but Monokuma threatened to _**kill**_ Tanaka if you did. It kept you silent but it's why you helped us get here." Koba explained. "And it's why you're acting like a jerk now. It's so we don't feel bad when you die… so we're not upset when we have to watch your execution. But it didn't work. Y-you were my f-friend and I'll always m-miss y-you."

"You're wrong." Sweeney's head was down… No one could see his face. All they could do was hear his voice.

"Wh-what?" Koba was so close to crying at this point. His eyes red as they swelled with tears.

"I didn't k-kill Niijima on purpose. My plan was to kill myself." Sweeney finally admitted. Suddenly his head whipped upwards, his usually cross eyes melting as they dripped down his face in thick, salty tears. He looked absolutely destroyed. "I set up the trap in the library for myself! I was supposed to die! It was supposed to be me! Not! Niijima! But I was too much of a FUCKING COWARD to do it. I-I tried to write a note and I just cried like some weak baby and made the fucking note wet. I left the room to try and gather myself together. To try and regain the courage I needed. But when I came back Niijima had locked herself in the library. I tried as hard as I could to get the door open but it was no use. I didn't want to kill Niijima! I-I didn't want to kill anyone! _**I just wanted this all to be over!**_ "

"Well I guess all that's left is to vote." Bellerose said, turning to face Monokuma.

"Wh-What?" Sweeney whimpered, rubbing his eyes as he tried to compose himself.

Himura saw as Gundam looked alert, worriedly staring Sweeney down before glaring back at Monokuma. It was like watching a dog guarding a child.

"Aw, it's that time already?" Monokuma laughed, hugging his gut before Sweeney broke his gleeful mood.

"I-I don't want to die Koba! G-Gundam I'm sorry! I-I didn't know this was gonna h-happen like this!" Sweeney seemed like sand, crumbling apart in the late night tide.

"Th-This isn't fair!" Koba argued, looking at Monokuma. "The murder was an accident. Does it really count?"

"Niijima is really dead." Sato sighed. "I promised I would find her killer. I-I had no idea it would be this bittersweet... "

"Monokuma told us before this game that no matter the reason the killer would be punished." Bellerose looked more distressed than normal. She was practically hugging herself at this point. "Even if it was an accident Monokuma is still going to punish him."

"Nnngh…" Gundam tensed up, his fist clenched as he looked up at Sweeney. "This is not the outcome I expected from my sacrifice. You weren't supposed to attempted to protect me!"

"What else was I supposed to do?" Sweeney whimpered. "You're the only adult who's ever been there for me! You're just a genuinely nice guy! You're the closest thing I've ever had to a dad and it's stupid you thought I'd just let you kill yourself."

"Monokuma. You ready to run the vote?" Kaito asked, though the actor sounded as if he was teasing him. "You usually don't let this charade go on for so long, don't you hate this mushy stuff?"

"I-I… Are you sure you all want to Vote for Sweeney?" Monokuma seemed to be acting strange. It was almost as if he was nervous. "Mmmaaaybe it was a suicide…?"

"Wh- Are you kidding me?" Luna covered her mouth. "Are you trying to trick us into making the wrong choice. We already know for sure that Sweeney did it. Why are you trying to talk us out of voting?"

"No… this- this doesn't seem fair! I don't want to do this." Monokuma was almost crying. Suddenly his paws were at the side of his head. "If you all vote for a suicide I'll pass it. Don't worry I-"

" _ **PUHUHUHUHAHAHAHAHA**_ You fucking pussy!" Another Monokuma suddenly fell from the sky. His elbow was driven into their judge's head. "You tried to change the rules behind my back didn't you? I thought we had a long, hard discussion about betraying me and how that mistake could be fatal? Or do I need to remind you of that again?"

The original Monokuma had been tossed to the ground. He looked up at his twin as the new challenger looked furious. The one on the ground was sobbing at this point. A puddle forming under the robot as he groveled on the ground.

"No! But this murder isn't fair! I don't like it!" The defeated Monokuma whined.

"Too bad. Sweeney here committed a murder so now it's his time to get it." This new Monokuma stood up over the rest of the students. His hand pointing down at Sweeney as a sudden chain wrapped around the artist's small throat. "Everyone! Get ready for the _**execution of-**_ "

"Stooooop!" Another being showed up. The soft, pink, plush look of Monomi bounced across the room. "You're cheating! You told me this game would only kill evil people! You can't kill him like this! _**You promised this game would inspire hope**_."

"You haven't figured it out yet? I lied to you! You're both idiots! I'm the boss here! You do what I say! And you know what I say right now?"

"Koba… Finish this game. Give that fucker hell for me." Sweeney still had tears running down his face.

"Common, Monomi, Do you know what time it is?"

"No, Don't say stuff like that. It might not be over yet." Koba whimpered as he watched the chain tighten around Sweeney's throat.

" _ **It's**_ "

"And Gundam… thank you. I don't know if you've gotten as many memories back as I have but… thank you so much for keeping me safe." Sweeney's voice sounded weak, the force he had to put in to hide the fear that was jamming his throat.

"Sweeney, I will not let you come to harm. I will-" Gundam went to head over. Determined as he walked towards the student.

" _ **Punishment time!"**_

 **The** **Execution of Beagan Sweeney**

 _ **Daddy's Home**_

 _Sweeney reappeared at a dinner table in a boarded-off room. Glass separated him from his fellow students. But unfortunately they were tinted, denying him the final chance to say goodbye to his friends. Swallowing hard, he tried to get around the knot that twisted itself inside of his throat._

 _His heart pounded as he looked down at the dusty dinner table in front of him. An average looking dinner sat down in front of him. Everything was set up like an average family dinner. Except for the bondage-like chains keeping Sweeney glued to his chair._

 _Sweeney wasn't sure at first but the whole room seemed to vibrate. The whole place shaking as footsteps rattled the house every second. Whatever was coming turned Sweeney's skin almost a pale white. A clammy texture covered him, sweat dripping down his body as his eyes stared off into the distance._

"If we all work together, we can remove him from this prison!" Gundam called out, scaring everyone as he ran full speed at the glass. The teacher rammed his shoulder into the glass. It made Himura's entire body freeze. The effort felt useless in this kind of situation. What could Tanaka really do, even if he broke through the glass.

 _Pieces of wood sprayed inside of the room. Shards of dangerous spikes flung at Sweeney. Somehow each piece barely missing stabbing into his flesh. But his eyes were still focused in on something in the dark. Whatever had been coming had broken through an unseen wall of this house._

Gundam slammed even harder this time. The sound caused Himura to flinch. There was no way the flesh up the teacher's arm wouldn't be a bright purple after this event. "We cannot surrender! Just persevere!" As the teacher backed up to smash into the wall again, Himura could see the hairline fractures that ran all over the glass.

 _A dark figure burst into the room, towering over everything else. A small hat rested on it's head, one that someone would expect some generic dad to wear. It's footsteps thundered through the emptiness of the courtroom as he drew closer to the scared student. The hands of this "father" figure were like sharp, winding teeth. Dangerous blades that begged for flesh. Slowly speeding up as they got so much closer to the defenseless boy._

Suddenly Koba was helping the teacher. The two of them slamming against the glass in unison. Tears filled the Scientist's eyes as he helped. Maybe it was the fact that he knew he didn't have the power to truly help the situation. Without a lot of weight to throw around he didn't have enough force to really help.

Then Iris ran over, the small girl joining the three in their attempt to save their classmate from certain doom. Himura wanted to help. To join them in a chance to save the artist from this twisted fate. But his muscles were locked in place, refusing to move anywhere. Only his eyes had the power to roll around in his head as they were forced to stare down the tragedy in front of him.

However, with the joined strength of the three of them, the cracks grew, soon covering the entire wall.

 _The monster loomed over Sweeney. It's hungry arms slowly reached up. A gesture that seemed like a warning before the real punishment happened. Ready to bring down the pain and teach Sweeney an unforgettable lesson about killing his friends. Time was ticking along. The air stiff as the boy struggled against the brute force of the chains holding him down._

 _His heart was heavy as he tried to escape. Swaying and thrashing around in his chair. It all felt so useless. An exhausted effort as he tried to fight against the force that had damaged him for his entire life. Then, Beagan Sweeney remembered what he had done, the life that had been taken. The fear pooled in his gut, dripping slowly as the pool was slowly masked by a fog of serenity. Peace was what he'd get after death. This was his chance… his chance to repent._

 _He closed his eyes… but just as he did, he felt something move around in the collar of his shirt, barely noticing the furry ball curled up against his neck._

 _Suddenly the glass shattered next to him just as the massive teeth of the beast whirled down on him. Somehow, Gundam had arrived to try and save him one last time. The teacher reached forward, moving to snatch the student from his execution._

 _Even after everything he'd done his teacher thought he was worth saving. Someone thought he had a life that was valuable enough to protect._

 _Suddenly the machine stopped, centimeters away from the tattoo artist's face. But the hope evaporated just as quickly as it arrived when the ground disappeared below him. Giving way to an endless pit that seemed to have no sign of an end. He gave Gundam one last look of terror before falling down into this unknown hole. No chance for a final word, just vanishing into this despair ridden trap, swallowed whole by the scratchy darkness of the world below._

 _No matter how much they listened… there wasn't a single sound of him hitting the bottom. Just an endless whistle that slowly faded into oblivion._

"In my professional opinion that one was kind of boring." Monokuma joked as he stood on top of the weaker kuma. " _ **I like more blood in my executions.**_ "

The first Monokuma sighed, hopping off the other before disappearing.

The beat-up Monokuma stood up, looking sad before running off with the other one.

Himura wasn't surprised to see Monomi had vanished as well. What a surprise all three of them had vanished so quickly.

Everyone turned to Gundam as he slowly pulled his body out of the small crack in the wall. The look of terror on his face made everyone else shrink back. No words could really be said to digest the activities of what just happened. Himura's ears felt as if they were ringing.

He wondered… no, they all wondered. What would they do next? Another killing until everyone is finally dead. A game without an end and a game without a winner. At that point, is it even a game anymore? Sighing, they all moved away from the execution space. Away from their emotionally destroyed teacher and the shattered glass.

Himura couldn't help but look at the shattered remains of the trial room. It was weird, the grim, dark setting of the execution was something that was to be expected. But at this point they usually had an eyeful of bright, nauseating blood to add some color to the scene. At the end of this trial, however, there wasn't a drop of the eye-burningly bright-pink fluid. Instead the whole scene looked as if it had ended abruptly. The saw blade hand of the ghastly machine was only centimeters away from where Sweeney's face had been. Part of Himura wanted to jump down the hole in the ground to see where it went but even that had already closed shut.

This trial had been so different than all of the other ones.

At this point, Himura just watched as the other teachers did their best to drag their friend up to their rooms.

Everyone was exhausted but no one was going to sleep tonight. What was left to live for after something like that. Sweeney had committed an accidental murder and was still pushed to his death. The student had tried to lessen the blow. To ease the pain of the wound as he sheltered them from the truth. Himura, however, had refused to take that as the answer. He had struggled and struggled until he had gagged the painful truth from his friend's throat right before his death.

 _ **And for what?**_

Now, he felt more Despair. A black, dark pit that grew in his chest. It threatened to swallow all of his fears. To make him even more numb to the tragedies around him. He didn't even have the energy to fight these feelings as they crept on him. Exhausted both mentally and physically there was only one thing everyone could do at this point.

Wait until tomorrow and hope that by then _**it'll all be over.**_


	22. Anamnesis

" _We're almost there. Do you think you're ready?" Komaeda leaned over into Gundam's personal space. The car let out a quiet whirl, just background noise at this point of their trip. "This is your first time recruiting, right? I promise it isn't hard. If someone like me can do it you'll do so well."_

" _Just because Hajime is not present does not mean the rules he applied to you are as well, making you free to deprecate yourself." Gundam warned. Everyone had heard the personal rules that Hajime had set for the white-haired man. Ever since the_ _**incident,**_ _Komaeda was restrained with certain rules to try and prevent his destructive, belittling behavior. Gundam knew that some people, like Souda and Hiyoko, let him tear himself apart anyways. Tanaka, however, wanted to help his friends in any way possible._

" _Aw, you won't tell on me will you? I'm already in so much trouble." Komaeda sighed, putting one of his ghostly hands over his face. Gundam could easily recognize that look, it was becoming even more common these days._

" _You don't look as if you beg for forgiveness." Gundam retorted._

" _It doesn't matter. Soon he'll realize I'm a waste of his time and finally abandon me." Komaeda made a sound almost like a chuckle, but it was off._

" _I am not as dull as you wish to pretend, Komaeda." Gundam started, his eyes narrowing down on his fellow teacher. "And neither is Hajime. He knows what you're planning with this. Your last attempts at pushing him away before-"_

" _Before my horrible end?" Komaeda laughed a bit as his eyes seemed to grow wild. "But won't that be easier? It's so much simpler to hate someone before they die than to love them to their last breath, right? Everyone already hates me s-"_

" _End this." Gundam commanded, feeling the devas inside his scarf stir as he watched the other teacher halt mid rant. "Your time of death is not happening soon. You will live. You know this. Currently everyone is-"_

" _We're here." Komaeda chimed in, back to how they had started this trip, excited to see another potential student. "Looks like a dump though? Don't you think?"_

 _Gundam sighed, knowing the argument had hit an impassable brick wall. At least he could report back to Hajime that he had tried to turn the Lucky Student away from his destructive path. Looking out the window, Gundam was surprised to see the small brick building crammed between two much older, decrepit buildings. The only reason Tanaka knew the smaller building was livable was because it looked as if it could actually have people inside._

 _Komaeda hopped outside of the car, pausing long enough to hold the door open for his goth friend. Letting Gundam slink out of the car as he continued to examine the street as a whole. The roads were cracked and falling apart, and buildings were crumbling. It seemed as if this town used to be some kind of suburban area back before the tragedy, and while much of the world was repaired at this point some of it was still healing. Others, like the town they were currently located, had been abandoned in the aftermath of The Tragedy._

" _What a place for an Ultimate, right Tanaka?" Komaeda asked, glancing back with his weirdly calm grin. "Oh, they'll most likely speak English inside. Yours is fairly broken but I feel like they should be able to understand you nonetheless."_

" _Those are not the words I would use. It seems more like a lair than a business." Gundam responded as he glanced over the building. He walked past the teacher to the visible door on the small building. He glanced around, looking for windows only to find that the building just had the blacked-out door. Komaeda seemed to hover over his shoulder, waiting for him to open it and head inside._

 _The handle of the door seemed to cry underneath the powerful force of Gundam's hands, a shrill creak coming from it as he twisted the knob. What a weak establishment that even the door seemed to cry out in fear. It took a decent push to get the actual door to swing open. Revealing the shop inside. The two of them took a slow, calculated step inside, taking a deep breath as they looked around the small entrance._

 _The room was dark, lit only by the dull, red lights that hung underneath beautifully painted and illustrated images of complex designs and images in the center of the room. The seemed to be calling out to the guests of their worlds to examine them for all their worth._

" _You must be the fuckers from Hope's Peak Academy."_

 _Gundam quickly turned, seeing an older woman at the counter. She seemed as if she might have been just a little bit older than Gundam and Komaeda. Her black hair was pulled into a tight ponytail. The front of her bangs were bumped up, almost like a mini pompadour. Her eyes were surrounded in dark make-up and they stared the two of them down. She was dressed in a small tank top, but the skin underneath wasn't bare. Instead, the entirety of her arms and neck were covered in detailed tattoos that flowed up from her wrist to her shoulders, from her exposed collarbone all the way up to her neck. Coming down from the corner of her eyes were a series of falling stars._

" _Ah, you must be the one who hung up on us the first time we tried to call." Nagito gently cupped his hands together as he gave one of his creepy smiles. "And the second time, the third time and even the fourth time."_

" _You're lucky Beagan happened to come out into the lobby that day." She growled, obviously not pleased by their presence. "If I had my way you fuckers wouldn't touch a hair on his head."_

" _Ah, you don't trust us?" Komaeda sighed._

" _Of course I don't trust you- I've always hated Hope's Peak Academy. It's their damn fault the tragedy even happened." The girl tested. "I told Sweeney he should turn down your offer."_

" _Unfortunately for you it's not your choice." Komaeda waved her off before stuffing his hands into his pockets. "We're here to see if Sweeney really has the skills to be the Super High School Level Tattoo Artist."_

" _He's got the skills. Once you see him work you'll know for a fact." She growled, refusing to take her eyes off of the other adults. "But this is your last warning, get out of here before I-"_

" _Ceallaigh who are you talking to?" A piece of the wall opened up near the back of the room, revealing a well hidden door. Out came a smaller boy and even though Gundam knew he was turning fifteen but the student looked like he could be younger. The boy had a tousled mess of unkept, silver hair. Near the roots a bright orange seemed to be growing in, making the hair look as if it needed to be colored again. His tired looking eyes peeked out behind round glasses at his future teachers. "What the fuck, Ceallaigh! Why didn't you tell me Hope's Peak was on their way? I haven't even finished packing all my shit."_

" _I already told you I didn't want you to go so why would I fucking tell you to get ready?" The women shot back, placing one of her hands on her hips. "Not like you have a lot of stuff to pack anyways."_

" _You bitch!" He paused, glancing back at the two teachers before swallowing. His aggressive face suddenly melted into one of nerves and tension. "S-Sorry I'm not fully ready yet."_

" _That's quite alright, child." Komaeda cupped his hands, taking a gentle step towards the boy. "We aren't here to take you away today. We are only here to test your skills."_

" _S-So I haven't been accepted yet? Ceallaigh, you told me I was already accepted!" Sweeney snapped again, growling at the woman._

" _Like they're gonna turn your sorry-ass down! The second they see your shit they're gonna hand you the fanciest fucking invite they have." The lady shot back, her words as sharp as the students._

" _You're impossible! I've been studying Japanese for ages now getting ready to go to this school! Stop trying to fuck this up for me!" Sweeney hissed._

" _Oh I believe that's enough fighting." Komaeda inserted himself._

" _I'm not fightin'; this is how I normally talk, sir." Sweeney turned to look at the sickly teacher. "What do you want me to do? I mean to test my skills? I have a portfolio together and tons of pictures of my work."_

" _None of that is necessary." Komaeda smiled as he took a step forward. "I've done quite a bit of research on you and I have to say your specialty interests me. You claim to be really good when tattooing over scar tissue, correct? If I did my research correctly, that's how you became so popular. A lot of scars needed to be covered up after the tragedy."_

" _Y-Yeah. The skin is sensitive… you have to be really careful not to harm them further or overwork the scar tissue. Is this relevant to what you want me to do?" Sweeney looked them over, a bit confused on what he should be doing._

" _Well I want to see you work in action. Of course you can't tattoo me since my doctor says I could get very ill from such an experience. So I brought my friend for you to test your skills on." Komaeda smiled, leaning over on his toes._

" _Wait, I did not agree to such activities." Gundam retorted. He had heard of his classmates going on trips with Komaeda to help him test potential students abilities. He'd heard of the ride Nekomaru had taken to visit a potential motivational speaker, the cruise taken with Teruteru to dine with an amazing chef. Hell he had even heard about Mikan and Komaeda investigating a boy who apparently found a cure for cancer. But none of them had ever come back with something as permanent as a tattoo. Sure, he had the one that covered over his left eye but that was different. It was an everlasting example of his overwhelming power._

" _Sorry did I not make that clear?" Komaeda remarked though Gundam knew this was exactly what he was planning. Did the lucky student ever talk his plans out before acting them out with unwilling guests? "You have some pretty bad scars on your back. I know you were planning on covering them. I would never force you to do it, though, I am your friend after all. This poor kid will just have to wait until we drag some willing teacher all the way from Japan back to Ireland. That would take a long ti-"_

" _Stop, the Great and Powerful Gundam Tanaka is unafraid of such a petty woes. If I truly wished I could shed this mortal prison, alas, such a powerful exchange could damage this world, ending it for sure this time around." Gundam laughed a bit, sneering as he went to remove his scarf. "So let's get started."_

 _Gundam followed the student into the other room, hesitating as he pulled off his scarf, waiting as his Dark Devas crawled free of the purple fabric._

" _Y-you had hamsters in there?" Sweeney paused, looking up at the teacher with a surprised look._

" _Ha! Only a fool would mistake them for mere hamsters. Alas, these beings have the powers of gods trapped beneath their furry exterior. They are my Dark Devas of Destruction. Do not be fooled by their appearance." Gundam retorted as he gently placed the handful of hamsters down on one of the side tables._

" _Uh… sure... " Sweeney sounded nervous as the teacher fidgeted with his tie. "Why do you wear a tie under your scarf?"_

" _Ah, this? The school required me to dress more formally to fit my position as a teacher. What is more formal than a tie?" Gundam asked. "Such a small piece of attire suited their needs while only adding to my immortal regalia."_

" _I wouldn't say that was the solution that they wanted." Komaeda let out a slight chuckle from his seat. "But they gave up on trying to get you and Souda to cooperate with a dress code."_

" _So where are these scars you want me to cover?" Sweeney questioned._

" _Ah, the marks of The Tragedy. They scorn my back- reminders of the battle we fought." Gundam laughed._

" _Well… I imagine you would like to forget those battles, right?" Sweeney asked._

" _Yes…" Gundam started, sitting down on the table, following the small artist's directions._

" _Then let me get to work." Sweeney rolled around on his small chair as he gathered up his supplies. "I promise you won't be disappointed."_

"Hey, you feeling okay?" Souda asked as he slowly wrapped the bandages around Gundam's arms, trying to encase the deep cuts from shattering the glass so that the wounds wouldn't become infected.

"Yes." Gundam kept it short, rubbing his red, worn out eyes. "What did you say?"

"I said I like your tattoo. It always looked so cool. Where did you get it again?" Souda seemed to finish his task, closing off the bandages and leaning back, pleased with his own work on his friend's arms.

"Sweeney."

"Oh, uh… right that was a dumb question." Souda cleared his throat before smacking his own head. "Dammit Kazuichi! I'm supposed to be making you feel better but I'm only making it worse!"

"How much longer until the doors open?"

"At least 6 more hours." Kazuichi responded. "You really should really get some sleep. Yo-"

" _We're done." The small, scratching pains that shot across Gundam's back suddenly ended. Just a soft, invigorating sensation was all that was left. "Ready to see?"_

" _Wow, you're finished already?" Komaeda rolled over closer to examine the work. "Ah, my research told me that a normal artist would finish this kind of piece in multiple sessions. How can you finish it so quickly?"_

" _I made my own machine and inks. They soothe the skin a lot more than most. I work faster without overworking the skin." Sweeney replied. "The inks also stay brighter longer so you don't have to worry about fading. So, like I said before, ready to see?"_

" _I am more than ready. Lay your work upon thine eyes and my mind shall feast on what you have created to adorn my carapace." Gundam laughed, slowly raising himself up from his seat._

" _I do have to say that I'm a fan." Komaeda rolled to sit next to Sweeney as the kid cleaned his station. "From what I recall we didn't tell you anything about Tanaka yet you completely nailed his Edge-Lord personality. How amazing."_

" _I really don't like how you talk." Sweeney mumbled, rubbing his neck as he looked at Gundam. "You sound like a cheesy villain from a kids cartoon."_

 _Gundam took a moment to look over the tattoo. He wasn't sure what he had expected but the markings that now spread over his back covered every scar that had adorned his back. Every mark and reminder of the events of the tragedy were gone, washed away underneath a black mist._

 _Well, it was black at first, dark and colorless, but upon a closer look with the right angle of light colors filled the ink, a dark spread of colors and shimmers that hid inside the darkness like a lost night sky. It all lead from the lower left corner of his back, the location of one of his biggest scars. The artist had used this big wound and made it into a portal to hell. The mist exited the wound, brushing against his right side of his back before fizzling out near his left shoulder. The smoke near the top was almost transparent, breaking through and showing some of the skin underneath. On Top of this colorful black smoke was a horde of hellhounds, hell-hamsters and other devious creatures. They poured out like a newly summoned army, heading up towards the faded point of the smoke._

" _But at least now you have a tattoo that matches that weird personality of yours." Sweeney sounded nervous as he made his joke, adjusting his round glasses in front of his eyes._

" _So, what made you pick these animals for the design?" Komaeda questioned._

" _W-Well I know who you are… I've done plenty of research about the school." Sweeney cleared his throat, looking nervous as he rubbed his thumb into his palm. "So I know he's the Ultimate Breeder. Plus with that weird way he was talking I knew he'd like the whole_ _ **escaped from hell**_ _look… you do like it, right?"_

" _I am quite pleased with the outcome of this depiction that has been inscribed into this vessel. The markings of a true army ready to destroy the gates of hell." Tanaka let out a laugh, grabbing onto his wrist as he continued his speal._

" _Uuuuh, that's good, right?" Sweeney questioned._

" _Yeah. That's just what he does when he's happy. I've seen him do this for ten minutes straight about a dog we met while walking down the street. But I did have a few more questions, if you don't mind." Komaeda leaned onto the back on his chair as he sat on it sideways._

" _Of course. I'll tell you anything you need to know."_

" _Well, don't worry too much since you're definitely accepted now." Komaeda offered. "Congratulations on your new title of_ _ **Ultimate Tattoo Artist**_ _."_

Souda was asleep this time, leaning all of his weight against Tanaka as he snored and drooled. Gundam still felt lost, his head fuzzy with a horrible cocktail of emotions and a need to sleep. But Gundam didn't want to sleep. His head was pounding as he pushed the mechanic off his shoulder who then as he dropped like a rock back onto the bed. Seemed like he wasn't going to wake up anytime soon. Gundam was glad that he didn't wake up the mechanic since Souda really needed the rest to recover, not. Not to mention that Kazuichi seemed to be keeping an even closer eye on him since the trial.

Maybe he felt guilty. Guilty that Gundam was willing to throw his life into a meat grinder for him. Gundam felt like Souda might yell at him soon, become angry that the breeder had used Souda's trust to rig the wheel.

...The wheel…

Gundam wondered if he hadn't rigged that wheel if Sweeney would still be alive at this moment. If the student hadn't known Gundam's plan he wouldn't have set up his own elaborate trap to try and save Tanaka. This time, his self sacrifice felt like a harrowing mistake, a mistake that cost one of his students his life.

Gundam needed to step out of the room. He felt as if he was suffocating but he knew there was nowhere he could go. The walls of this school kept him trapped inside of this murderous dungeon. He felt as if the walls were dripping with the oozing, neon blood. Spreading down the walls as he took a step out into the lounge of the teachers dormitories.

He started to feel a bit better in such an open room but part of him wished he could go onto the other floors of the school. The ability to walk around was a dream at this point. Anything to keep his mind away from the memory he had received. There were two memories bouncing around in his head, one he remembered before this game started and the other was recovered by the death of his student. This one felt more sharp and painful in the back of his head, digging into his brain like a sharp needle. Slowly pressing more and more of the memoriesobjects into his brain.

Gundam grabbed himself a glass of water as he took a seat at the table in the center of the commons. Spending more of his time stirring the liquid inside than actually drinking it. His brain slowly focusing onto the newly registered memory.

" _Tanaka, do you have a moment?" Makoto asked, leaning over his desk as he shifted in his seat. "I have an important task for you."_

" _Ah, shall I rid this school of hidden powers? A protective barrier to surround the building from evil intent?" Tanaka questioned. He honestly wasn't used to the headmaster calling him into the office. The only time he could specifically recall the headmaster doing so was to tell him to dress more professionally. It was the reason he had added the tie to his normal attire._

" _N-No, nothing like that." Makoto waved his hand, dismissing the idea of using magic on the school grounds._

" _Then what have you called me here for?" Gundam asked, looking confused. What other task did Gundam have that wasn't dark arts related?_

" _It's about Sweeney. We got a phone call today from someone he used to work with today. She gave us information that I believe needs to be delicately handed over to the artist." Makoto sighed, the small headmaster looked worried now._

" _What does such a thing have to do with me?"_

" _Well, I believe you're the only one who I know that is close enough to him to give him such information. Sweeney doesn't talk to a lot of the teachers other than you… So could you please tell him for me?" Makoto sighed, looking more worried as time went on._

" _I shall carry this mission to the end. Bestow your wishes upon me and I shall forward this task." Tanaka offered._

" _Well… we got a call today that Sweeney's father passed away last week…" Makoto finally sighed._

 _That… That was not what Gundam had expected. It was obviously fragile information- something that could easily shatter a person like weak glass under rapid shifts of temperature. No one had ever trusted him with such sensitive information. Gundam knew that Sweeney was likely to lash out. The child had always had rage that seemed ready to switch on at any moment. Gundam recalled seeing the child become enraged by accidentally spilling milk. Sweeney had taken the glass and smashed it against the ground after the small spill. This news was likely to get a similar reaction._

" _I shall tell him." Gundam offered. He knew he was the only one close to the student, plus it was likely that Gundam was the only one who could handle the child's outbursts._

 _Gundam left, heading towards where the artist spent most of his free time. The art room was peaceful when he entered. The music Sweeney played sounded relaxing, the tones gentle and peaceful, yet the words were worrisome. The Tattoo Artist sat at a table near the edge of the room, using a small light box that had been set up in the corner of the room. Gundam could even see the paintings that the artist had done in some of his free time as he slowly walked over to the student crouched over the table._

" _What are you doing here? Isn't it a bit late for you to be botherin' me?" Sweeney asked,though Gundam could tell it wasn't actually as aggressive as he made it sound._

" _I have received news that I believe is important to deliver to you in person." Gundam felt his throat dry slightly as he readied himself to deliver the bad news. He'd had plenty of practice with Souda on how to hand over bad news. The mechanic had also given him practice on how to handle the aftermaths of someone so emotionally unstable._

 _Gundam put the bend of his finger over his mouth as he fell deeper into thought. He hesitated because he had never delivered news so devastating. All Tanaka knew was that Sweeney was one of the few students who had a father. Well, a father that was alive. Many of the student's parents had died during the tragedy._

" _C'mon, Spit it out Tanaka." Sweeney just looked confused by his teacher's hesitance. The student turned off the light table, more concerned about killing the bulb in the device than the news that Gundam carried with him. "It better be somethin' important. Did one of the hamsters get hurt? Koba finally busted that thick skull of his open? Kazuichi got his dick stuck -"_

" _Your father has passed." Gundam said gently, speaking before he really absorbed what Sweeney was saying. Now he kind of wondered what the end of that sentence would lead to._

 _Sweeney's emotions were ironed out of his expression. Gundam couldn't read his face too much as he spoke after a few moments of silence. "Do you know how he died?"_

" _I am unaware of the circumstances of his passing."_

" _Hmm…" Sweeney mumbled as he rocked in his chair._

 _Gundam had seen him behave like this before, swiveling in his chair as he tried to come up with a new idea. Gundam swallowed, quickly thinking of a way to comfort the student. If only he was a little bit better at comforting people it would be so much easier to devise a plan in order to console the young student._

" _You made me think you were going to bring me some bad news, Tanaka. This is great news. I've been waiting for this day for ages. The bastard probably choked on his own spit when he was sleeping. Or maybe he finally drank himself to death." Sweeney was smiling, the sly, amused smile he got when something really pleased him._

" _I… was unaware of the animosity you harbor for your father." Gundam remarked. A part of him felt like he should have known this. The artist's behavior often highlighted that of disdain for one's own family._

" _Huh? I haven't made that clear? My father was an abusive asshole. My mom was a dumb bitch too, left me with him when I was young… Though I can't blame her for running from the sick bastard the second she realized how disgusting he really was. Doesn't matter anymore, honestly." Sweeney turned back to scribbling on his light box._

 _Gundam paused, grabbing one of the chairs and pulling it up look and see what Sweeney was doing. The lines he was working on seemed intricate. A large picture he was working out on the table in front of him._

" _Besides, who needs bullshit blood family when I have you in my life." Sweeney seemed as if he wasn't really paying attention anymore as he scribbled more onto the page. "This school has been the closest thing to a family I ever had. It was my escape from my home, a way out of that place. It was why I was so eager to get here. It was the only reason why Ceallaigh actually let me go. She knew if I didn't go here I would be trapped there forever."_

" _Well, I must concede to the joy that you have brought to this school. Even a mortal such as yourself has brought elation to my dark heart." Gundam admitted, leaning over his shoulder more as he tried to look over Sweeney's work more._

" _Wha- Oh, uh, thanks. It means a lot." Sweeney turned a little red as he pushed away from the table a bit. "I need to ask you a question."_

" _You require my assistance?" Gundam questioned, even more confused as Sweeney slid the piece of paper towards him._

" _Y-Yes. I was working on my tattoo and I wanted you to sign your name on it… O-Or just write it. I already got Koba to write his whole name… is there a chance you could do it too? I want to make sure the kanjis are right. I-I don't want to mess it up." Sweeney seemed a lot more nervous than usual. As Gundam slowly slid the sheet over, Sweeney seemed to only grow more anxious. "Unless you don't want to, I-I won't force you to do it."_

" _I would be honored." Gundam remarked as he leaned over the paper to write his name near the other student's. He had a good look at the piece now, the beautiful illustration was only lines at this point. An hourglass laid at the very top of the design, busted as sand poured down onto a wounded heart bellow._

" _It's a bit cheesey but I thought it was important… It's supposed to demonstrate the saying that time heals all wounds. Y-You've heard that one before right? But I also want there to be signs that it isn't time alone that helps them heal… You had a lot to do with it and I don't think I could have done better without everyone in this school."_

" _Who all is signing?" Gundam questioned._

" _O-Oh! Just you and Koba. I feel like you two are… Well you're both the closest thing I've ever had to a family."_

"Those memories really take a chunk outta your head, don't they?" Komaeda's voice seemed to drag Gundam out of the warm memory. Causing the old art room to fade in the back of his head, vanishing as it was swallowed by the darkness of the room around them. Suddenly Gundam felt cold as he stared over at the other teacher.

"Yes."

"Well, it is quite amazing how someone was able to rig our memories in such a manner, correct? I wonder how they went about it? What process they used t-"

"I do not desire to bear witness to another one of your circuitous rants." Gundam warned, ready to stand up and go back to his room if the white haired teacher continued.

"Wait, I apologize for the rough start. I know I should be more sensitive. I wanted to ask you a question." Komaeda started. "A real question too, not just a coy roundabout to gather information."

"That sounds like a false promise." Gundam remarked as he came up blank trying to remember a time the lucky students asked about something directly.

"Well, I wanted to ask you why you sacrificed yourself for garbage like me?" Komaeda slowly scratched the back of his head as he looked towards his friend.

"I told you the answer to this already." Gundam looked over at his fellow teacher with a stern look. "I was not about to return home without you and Hajime within my retinue."

"But why?" Komaeda asked.

"Do not play the fool here, Nagito." Gundam remarked. "I know you discern more of the situation than you unveil. I refuse to let a friend of mine perish in this place. Nor could I face the fledgling Kouki and apprise her of her dear father's death."

"Do you really believe she'd miss me?" Komaeda asked, his voice seemed more brittle than usual. The emptiness of his voice was no longer masked in his veil of mystery. This seemed to be a rare moment of exposure.

"I have no doubts." Gundam assured him, glad that this new conversation seemed to take his mind off of the horrible world around them. The memories of the fallen student seemed to be swallowed by older memories. Suddenly he remembered the time he had taken the young girl Kouki out for bubble tea. How Souda, Sonia and him had offered to take her out and witness the exciting stores at the local mall. He remembered how fondly she spoke of the father that now sat in front of Gundam. Everyone except Komaeda seemed to know just how much she looked up to him.

 _Ding Dong, Bing Bong_

Komaeda was suddenly back to his usual self, lifting a hand near his face as the morning announcement sounded through the lounge. Suddenly his fortress was back, the gate that had been open was suddenly shut tight. Bound by false mystery and shrouded in a thick fog of lies, all meant to disregard his true feelings of self loathing.

"Well, it looks like it's time to meet our dear students. Are you ready to disembark, my _friend?"_

"While I consider you a friend… the way you speak the word is quite disheartening." Gundam confessed, standing to his feet in one long swoop. "Now, let's go meet with the students."

* * *

 _For some reason, Koba knew this was a dream. There was nothing else that this could be than a dream. His head seemed to be pounding as he ran down the halls of the school. Everything seemed so dark as he chased the figures that appeared out of the corner of his eyes._

 _This wasn't the first time this had happened, either. It was as if his mind was trying to reject the witness of a murder in his sleep. His brain always seemed to wait until it was dark before it gingerly tried to scoop the dirt over his memories. Making everything fuzzy and hard to focus on. Even now he tried to remember Hotta's death, the cute girl seemed like a blurred figure, almost as if she was slowly sinking deeper and deeper into a dirty pond. Why could he barely remember her murderer? Why could he barely remember that first trial? What was he missing? It was like trying to watch an old VHS, everything was fuzzy and all the materials needed to play it were out of date._

" _Koba, I need you to focus." The girl said again, her long black hair looked like a sheet of black silk as the two of them stopped around one of the corners. Koba couldn't help but wonder why blood seemed to be splattered up her hands. Everything came in and out of focus. Parts of her narrowing while others grew fuzzy. Her face seemed blank. Not void of expression but void of features. Something just seemed to be missing when he looked at her._

" _I'm trying, Rhee,"_

 _Koba mumbled as he slowly stood against the wall next to her. "It's just hard to focus with all this blood."_

 _The walls around them were splattered with the stuff, almost as if someone had sprayed the school with a new layer of paint. The smell seemed to rush around him, even in this dream. The smell of iron and… cotton candy? They were not a mix he had ever expected._

" _Well you're remembering this. That's good. Are there any details you can focus on? Anything that's strange?" The girl asked, her eyes seemed to follow Koba… He felt as if she was really talking to him._

" _No." Koba responded. Taking a few steps forward and into the hall with a slight sigh. "I don't see anything that's important."_

" _That's… unfortunate." She took a couple stops near Koba with a soft sigh. In her hands was Koba's skate board. This was starting to become a very strange dream. She paused, handing the board out to Koba. "You know what I need you to do."_

" _W-What? What do you need me to do?" Koba leaned forward. Her voice sounded as if it was echoing in a small room._

" _I need you to skate, Koba!" Rhee pushed the board into his hands. "I need you to skate for me."_

" _Wh-What?" Koba was taken off guard. The skateboard in his hands as he swallowed hard. He could feel the wood in his hands, gingerly rolling it around in his hands before looking back up. Suddenly she was gone, vanished in the air around him. He was alone in this bloody school. He looked at the skateboard in his hand, watching as the blood seemed to drip off of it into the pool below his feet._

 _...What was even going on anymore?_

Koba woke up, his mouth dry as if he'd just filled it all with sand. It was like this before. Rubbing his tired eyes, he pulled himself out of bed. He still had an hour before the rest of his friends would get out of bed. It was time for him to get some water on his own.

Koba was already out of the room when he felt a sensation of deja vu wash over him as he remembered this exact situation. He remembered going to get a glass of water from the kitchen when he'd seen a ghastly shape at the top of the stairs. No, that was a dream too.

Koba glanced over at the entrance he had seen her in last time, watching as the dark hallway seemed still in the early morning hours.

Koba went and drank his water from the sink, chugging it down as some drops escaped the corners of his mouth, sliding down his neck as he chugged it. Though it seemed that no matter how much water he downed his mouth was always going to be dry. Sighing, he decided it was time to break Bellerose's rule, grabbing a can of soda and stuffing it in his pocket before he took another and cracked it open. Maybe the carbonation and sugar was what he needed to wash away all of these haunting dreams.

He loved the fizzing sound the soda made as he cracked it open. It was even better on his senses as he started to chug the can of bubbling liquid down. The sugar was already getting him excited as he wandered back into the main hall of the room. He was thinking of heading back to his room before another snack crossed his needs.

Quickly he headed towards the storeroom. Monokuma said that he restocked the snacks and food as every night so maybe his favorite treats were finally back in stock. He had taken them all out of the room last time, dragging the fruit snacks back to his room and enjoying them all himself. He didn't like hoarding all of the treats for himself but from what he gathered everyone else in the school thought they were nasty. He didn't understand what wasn't awesome about fruit snacks with juice inside. They were his favorite snack in the whole world and he was lucky enough that they were one of the few snacks that filled the storeroom.

Right now, at this very moment, he could really go for another handful of those snacks. Bellerose had also told him he wasn't allowed to eat at night because it was bad for his health. But a snack every now and then couldn't hurt, right? Besides cool kid philosophy was that sometimes rules had to be broken. Also Koba couldn't resist a late night Gushers™ feast.

Koba strolled into the store room, still sipping on his soda as he walked towards where Monokuma usually kept the boxes. Koba looked over the other boxes of snacks. More treats he loved to sink his teeth into. Marshmallows, Fruit snacks, juice boxes, pretzel sticks and even these weird wax candies shaped like bottles. The room was also packed with more normal snacks such as pocky, pretz, Kaki seeds, and even tasty little mushroom mountains; Koba found the assortment of snacks like a wonderful place to enjoy any treat he could imagine.

As Koba walked to the back of the storeroom his eyes fell on the rugs that had been stored in the back corner of the room. It took him a moment to move past it as he remembered Yunokawa. He remembered how she had carried the rug up the stairs. How she had murdered one of their friends in this game. He felt it weigh heavy in his heart. He couldn't help but think back to the moment when they had all discovered the rugs together. How he was trapped underneath them and the toymaker had to help him escape. Maybe if he had taken the time to talk to Yunokawa more maybe she wouldn't have committed murder. He could understand where she was coming from, the thought of doing anything to save a brother was something Koba could feel down in every inch of his body.

He hated the fact that his brother's last days were a fuzzy memory. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't remember exactly how his brother had passed. He knew it was cancer, the lack of his own skills created the end of his dear brother's life. He would have done anything to save his brother if he could have done anything to prevent it. Maybe that was how Yunokawa had felt that night, a desperate need to keep the last remaining pieces of their family alive. Maybe if they had worked together maybe he could have helped her through the thick water and back to the surface. Maybe she wouldn't have drowned in the arduous water and instead let her lungs fill up with air. Maybe then Yunokawa and Kentaro wouldn't have perished that night. Maybe they all could have still been friends.

Wait, what was he thinking? Last remaining pieces of his family? That was a lie. He grew up with a beautifully big house and his happy family. He remembered his father doing dad things and his mother doing mom things. He used to play with the neighbors with his brother and their dog? Or was it a cat? Now that Koba thought about it, he was sure it was a rabbit. He remembered his mother telling him… stuff… as he went to bed. The brown coils of her hair falling over her face as she tilted her head. Wait- that wasn't right. His mom had curly blond hair. No, was it natural brown hair? No, no that didn't make any sense, he must be imagining things.

Koba felt his mind suddenly discard the memories, pushing it to the back of his mind as he was suddenly reminded of the existence of his favorite treat. He pulled himself away from the rugs and away from the shards of memories of his brother to bound over to where his favorite snack should be. There was no point in crying about the past. He had to keep moving forward for the friends who didn't make it to this point. The feeling he had forgotten something important laid heavy in the back of his mind, though, to be honest, he always felt like he was forgetting something important.

Koba reached up to grab the place where the Gushers™ usually where. He was confused when the box was almost completely empty. Didn't Monokuma refill these at night? Shouldn't this already be restocked and ready for consumption? Koba paused, glancing around the store room one more time. Suddenly he noticed that most of the really sweet treats were missing. He glanced around, slightly panicked at the idea of his sugar craving would never be fulfilled. That was when he heard it, the door slowly creak behind him.

At first he was too scared to move. Afraid that whatever was behind him was the kind of scary monster that waits under your bed while you sleep. The kind that preys on you and awaits the moment where your guard is down the most before biting off all of your toes.

When he finally turned to face the door he barely saw it. The pale green eyes that stared at him from the open doorway. Just seconds of a glimpse as these large eyes seemed to vanish as the door suddenly swallowed them whole.

Koba didn't even have a moment to think, he just bolted. Chasing after whatever entity had resided in the door just a few moments ago.

When he was out in the hall, Koba didn't see anyone there. He just saw the tail of a long, dark green coat as it swooped around the corner.

I-It was happening again. It had to have been the same figure as before. The long coat that seemed to follow it like some kind of reaper. Was he dreaming? Had this all been another weird dream? Last time he thought it had been really happening too but there was no way the small figure could be real, right?

Either way, he kept up the chase, just going fast enough to just barely see the figure before it turned each corner. He chased it up the first flight of stairs.

Then the second.

And third.

And even the fourth.

Until he suddenly realized he was on the new floor. Watching as the world around him was suddenly a new place. Being on this floor made it obvious that this was all a dream. The walls were brightly colored shades of pink and green, brighter than his own damn jacket. Even in the dark they seemed to have an ethereal glow to them. Cascading softer versions of their harsh light onto the polished ground.

It took him a moment to regain his composure. This place seemed to open up into a bigger hallway, a few doors on each side. His head was dizzy from running so fast, a bit out of breath from lack of sleep. It looked like he was already too late, the figure had vanished behind one of these doors. Guess he really was a little too slow.

He looked over the doors, trying to figure out which one the reaper had ducked its head into. They all had names. Titles inscribed on each door to give a taste of what might be inside. There was a Dojo, Science and Medicines Lab, a Hologram stage, a Playroom, and a Skatepark. Wait, a skatepark? Yeah, this was definitely a dream. What kind of school would have an indoor skatepark?

Suddenly he heard the voice in the back of his head again. The frigid, yet warm voice of the girl. He remembered her telling him to skate. Maybe his dream had been trying to tell him something. Maybe he was supposed to skate now and that was what he was forgetting.

Without thinking, he started to wander towards the door. His brain making the corners of his vision funny like some kind of horror movie chase through the dark. His eyes only seemed to see the door in front of him. Walking slowly through this weird realm until-

 _ **Crackle! Crunch!**_ Sounded under his foot. He could feel the foil wrapper underneath his bare feet as he was suddenly taken out of his dazed look. He quickly snapped free of the transe, looking down at the ground and to the Gushers™ wrapper on the ground underneath his feet.

But how did this get here? How had this wrapper gotten all the way onto the fifth floor. No one ate these but him. Plus no one else should have been up this far yet. They had all agreed to explore new floors together the next day.

Koba glanced around, looking for another sign of life on this desolate floor. That was when he saw another wrapper sitting on the outside of the Playroom. He slowly walked closer. Something slowly started to pound in his chest. The walls warped around him, stretching far above him as he made his way closer to the door. Slowly it opened, matching each one of his steps as he got closer and closer.

When he finally reached the door it was fully open for him to enter. The walls inside were bright and playful, yet a lot more gentle on the eyes. He suddenly went from tense to ease as he gazed over the walls lined with toys and bean bags. This looked like a child's paradise in here. He took a deep, long sigh as he noticed the box of Gushers™ in the center of the floor. He quickly walked up, scooping a bag off the floor before he tried to tear it open with his teeth. For a dream this all felt weirdly realistic.

Koba had just tossed the first one into his mouth when the door suddenly slammed behind him. He felt the fear suddenly rush back into his body as he slowly turned to face the door behind him. But before he could react to anything he suddenly felt the whole world turn black…

* * *

 _Ding Dong, Bing Bong!_

 _Goooooooodmorning everyone! Time to rise and shine because Nighttime is officially over! Today is another beauuuutiful day so don't waste it mourning the loss of all your friends! And just a reminder the fifth floor is open for all of you to explore!_

The morning announcement seemed more mocking than usual. Himura slowly got out of bed and started up his personal coffee machine so that he could get ready for the day. He was still trying to shake the memories of the night, another warm memory of spending time with his teacher Komaeda. It gave him such whiplash to go through something so horrible than experience another warm memory of his teacher. It was especially rough after last night's trial.

Himura sighed, going to take a nice, long drink from his coffee mug when suddenly someone was pounding on his door.

 _ **Thud Thud!**_

It was probably just someone trying to drag him to breakfast. That's why everyone knocked on his door. If he waited long enough, maybe he could enjoy his coffee in peace and join them for breakfast later. He just wanted a minute to himself. Was that too much to ask?

 _ **Thud Thud Thud!**_

It couldn't be anything important. It was too soon after a murder for someone else to be dead. Why was someone in such a hurry to get ahold of him. He liked having friends, that was for sure, but why were they knocking on his door already.

"I'm coming, just give me a moment." Himura called out, maybe that would calm them down a little bit.

 _ **THUD THUD THUD!**_

" _Himura! It's an emergency! I need your help!"_

Was that Iris? She sounded worried. Himura put down his coffee and headed towards the door. He quickly tugged it open to see the small gardener looking up at him. Her blue eyes wide and mixed with a whirlpool of fear. She looked nervous and tired.

"Iris, are you okay?" Himura started as he looked over the small girl. "What's wrong?"

"It's Koba!" She said worriedly. "He's not in his room and I can't find him anywhere! I even searched the other floors."

"Wh-What?" Himura felt his heart drop. Where could Koba have gone? It was too early in the morning to deal with something like this. He hadn't drank enough coffee to deal with this mess. But they were his friends and he would be a liar if he said he wasn't worried about his sk8r friend. "Alright, calm down. Let's go look for him together, okay?"

"Thank you Himura…" She said gently as the two of them went to look for Koba. "Most of Koba's shorts, shoes and skateboard where still in his room. He never leaves his room without his skateboard. Do you think he's okay?"

"He's fine. We'll find them." Himura assured her. But those facts made him even more worried.

 _Koba, where the hell did you go?_


	23. A mystery Student?

Himura stepped out of the room followed Iris down the hall. He wasn't too worried yet, Koba was known for wandering into the kitchen at night. Plus, it wasn't like their classmate was well known for time management or spacial awareness. Hell, there was even a chance he was still in his room, locked inside his bathroom.

As they reached Koba's door it was strange to see the thing already open, hanging there as if it was some kind of afterthought. Himura stepped inside, surprised he hadn't really been inside of the Sk8r's room yet. He took a moment and let himself absorb the amount of trash in the room, it was filled with outdated American candy wrappers. His walls were lined with weird stuff from the American 90s as well- a lot of bright, neon posters with random english words plastered to them. For example, there was a poster with at least 7 different colors on it with just the word _dude_ in the center. A pile of weird juice and milk caps laid scattered across the counter, though they all looked like weirdly decorated chips at this point. Other 90s toys seemed to scatter themselves around the room, all setting this place up like some ancient toy store.

But those didn't feel out of place. Koba was a weirdo, strange in his own lovable ways. That was something Himura expected from the guy. What he didn't expect to see where the crumpled pictures tossed all over Koba's nightstand. He knew Iris was expecting him to investigate but he was more drawn to these anomalies. Something felt off about these pictures, like they were from some strange alternate dimension.

Himura didn't have a lot of time to look them over. A photo of two kids sitting in a hospital room, one tucked into a bed, looking more ill than the other. Hospitals always made him nauseous so maybe that was why it seemed like the light was coming from all over the place in this photo. There were family photos of the two of them with a blond haired woman but it all seemed out of place, a small, white line seemed to surround all the figures around the beautiful house behind them. Then there was the photo of Koba accepting his award of Super High School Level Cytologyst. He looked… worried… But the background seemed warped and misplaced. Had Koba just been carrying these in his pockets? Who folds and damages precious photos like this? And even more than that, who the hell keeps a photo of their brother dying in the hospital. That doesn't seem like a memory anyone would want to cherish.

"See! His pants are still here!" Iris went to point at them folded in the corner of the room but paused. "Wait! They're gone. They were here just a moment ago."

Himura looked over to where Iris stood near the closet. It was strange. His closet was perfectly organized, everything was put neatly where it was supposed to go. That wasn't how Himura imagined the kid's closet would look at all. Instead, it seemed everything was in place except for one pair of shorts and his shoes. The two main things a lost Koba would have been missing.

"It was a mess in here earlier." Iris explained as she glanced around the room. "Plus there is no way that he could have came back and grabbed his stuff! I checked in here again for him before I came to your room."

"Hey, calm down, it's going to be okay." Himura tried to reassure her, he could see the panic rising in the small girl as they glanced around the room.

Iris paused, the panic vaporizing a lot faster than what should have been normal. She let out a long, drawn out sigh before nodding. "Will you double check with me? Together we might be able to find him."

"Of course." Himura responded. "I want to find him too."

"What's going on in here?" Bellerose was suddenly at the door, Sato following her close behind. "Why are you all gathered in Koba's room?"

"He's gone missing. Want to help us find where he went?" Himura explained, recruiting them to help discover where their friend had went in the process.

"Of course. I can look over the second floor for him. Sato can look over the third floor. I'll go grab Kaito and Luna and have them look over the other floors as well." Bellerose was suddenly taking charge of the situation. Leading the way to bossing around the others. Guess it really helped highlight the difference between a chef and a cook. A cook could cook but a Chef could lead a group to complete complicated tasks.

"Sato, go look now. Make sure you look everywhere, understand?" Bellerose commanded towards the racer. Sato seemed eager to please as she saluted before bolting down towards the dining hall.

"What is going on here?' It was Makoto's voice they heard next, the teacher taking a few steps towards them with a confused stare. "Why are you all running off like this."

"Kobayashi is missing, sir." Bellerose explained. "He's not in his room."

"Are you sure he's not drinking a glass of water or somethin'?" Souda questioned as he turned the corner.

"No, he would have been back by now. How long has he been missing, Iris?" Bellerose asked the small botanist with an expectant stare.

"At least an hour. I was in the garden last night and I saw him run past. I don't know where he was going but that was at around 6 in the morning." Iris explained.

"You didn't tell me that part." Himura paused, feeling as if he had suddenly learned very important details about this situation.

"Well you didn't ask." Iris answered back before looking back towards Makoto.

"That is worrisome." Hajime added, rubbing his jaw as he glanced around.

"Well he couldn't have gotten far." Gundam added, a silent shadow in the back of the group.

"He probably fell somewhere on that stupid board of his and passed out. I doubt we really need to worry about where the hell he is now." Souda remarked, though after he examined the looks of his fellow teachers, he shut his mouth.

"We're wasting time talking." Komaeda explained. "Let us look for him. Himura, let us explore the fifth floor to-"

"Sounds good to me." Himura offered, walking towards the stairs. He could hear his lanky teacher follow him.

"I'm coming with you two." Hajime wasn't even suggesting the offer, just following the two as they headed to the stairs.

"Oh Hajime, you don't need to babysit me." Komaeda sounded as if he was playfully teasing the other man.

"Well excuse me if the last trial has me on edge." Hajime shot back, eyeing down Komaeda before looking foward again. "Besides just a few days ago you were to weak to even walk. Now you're suddenly fine? I don't believe it."

"What can I say? I've been taking my medicine." Komaeda sounded as if he was making a joke. Like this was all some kind of weird game to him and not something that could mean his own death.

The three of them walked up the stairs, heading up to the fifth floor. It was weird, when would this school run out of floors. When would they run out of students to kill? When would this game be over?

"Are you ready for the end?" Komaeda asked as they headed towards the newly open stairway.

"Don't say it like that. You make it sound like you're actively involved in this game." Hajime remarked, scratching his head as he tried to keep walking.

"You think this game is almost over?" Himura questioned. "What makes you think that?"

"Well, we don't know for sure but it's likely the mastermind will slip up in this last trial." Hajime remarked as he took the first step up the new staircase. "At this point, no one is willing to murder each other anymore."

"Well I wouldn't say that." Komaeda sounded smug, the look on his was something that drove a chill down Himura's spine. Why did he have to be so weird about everything?

"I heard about that…" Himura mumbled. "About what you did."

"Who told you about it? Kaito I imagine?" Hajime questioned, turning to face the barista.

"No… Luna told me about it. About how you made an elaborate plan to kill one of your fellow classmates… A girl named Chiaki."

"That's not what happened! Not at all. The fact that she died was completely… bad luck." Komaeda retorted, more forceful than usual. "I was trying to kill everyone _**but**_ her."

"Y-You tried to kill your entire class?" Himura blinked, startled at the idea of murdering a whole group of… of friends.

"We're changing the subject. We need to look for Koba. I'll make the story short. Komaeda tried to kill all of us because we were all remnants of despair." Hajime hurriedly explained.

"That makes sense… You always have such a battle for hope I'm not surprised you'd do something radical like that." Himura finished, deciding it was best to drop this conversation as soon as possible. "What do you think happened to Koba?"

"Who knows." Komaeda took the first step onto the new floor. Pausing and looking around before going quiet. His sudden silence seemed to worry Hajime as the other teacher quickly walked to catch up with him.

Himura swallowed, walking faster to get to the top. He tried to swallow down how tired he was from climbing all of these flights of stairs. Right now he really wished the elevator went up too and not just down.

When he actually got to the new floor he paused. The room was more open the rest of the floors, showing off the expansive amount of space in this massive building. He noticed something strange right away. No matter where Himura looked this floor had absolutely no monitors. It was strange, suddenly the familiar screens were gone. How would they make announcements on this floor.

From where he stood, Himura could already see all of the important doors. There was a Dojo, Science and Medicines Lab, a Hologram stage, a Playroom, and a Skatepark. Woah, looking at these doors, it seemed pretty obvious where Koba probably was hiding.

"Do you see that?" Komaeda asked.

"See what? Be more specific." Hajime responded as he went to stand next to his other half. The thin man was glancing around the hallway as if he expected something to jump out at any moment.

Komaeda didn't answer, walking over to a door labeled The Playroom as he slowly took a few steps closer.

"What? Why are you so strung up about this door?" Hajime asked as he followed the white haired teacher towards the bright pink door.

"Don't you remember? I put in a personal request for a room like this." Komaeda insisted.

"Why, do you really like kid's toys?" Himura questioned, unsure of why a teacher would request a playroom.

"No, don't you remember Hajime? I requested this room so Kouki could come to work with us! She always ran out of things to do, she needed a place to relax and play."

"Oh, right. I do remember you trying to convince Makoto to add it. You said it would be useful if any of the other teachers had kids too… which no one was even close to doing. I don't remember him actually agreeing to it though." Hajime chuckled. "It really only would have benefited us."

Komaeda tugged at the door, obviously excited to see the inside.

 _ **Clunk Clunk**_

"Huh? Is it locked?" Hajime asked as they both watched Komaeda struggle more to try and tug the door open.

 _ **Clunk Clunk Clunk**_

"Why would they even bother locking this door. It's just a kid's playroom right?" Himura questioned.

"N-No." Komaeda tugged at the door harder, almost desperate to try and pry this door open. "Why won't it open?"

"Nagito! Calm down." Hajime reached out and grabbed Komaeda by the arm. Pulling him away from the door before he could do any damage.

"Woah! Looks like someone is really freakin' out here, huh?" Monokuma laughed as he suddenly appeared in front of the door. "Too bad you stopped before you broke anything important!"

"What are you doing here?" Himura inquired as everyone grew even more tense around the walking, talking death toy.

"I just wanted to remind you all that breaking school property is _**against the rules**_. As much as I'd love to completely obliterate you all it seems like a better plan for me to _**warn you**_ than to just let you die." Monokuma warned, putting a lot of emphasis on some of the words he spoke.

"Why can't we go inside?" Komaeda asked. "What's the point of locking a children's playroom?"

"Because you're all too old to play inside!" Monokuma mocked. "Aren't you like 30 years old? A geezer like you doesn't need to get into there! Don't be creepy about it Nagito."

"He's right though, I mean Nagito is right. Why would you lock us out of a room that's apparently useless." Hajime interrogated as he took another step forward. "You wouldn't lock us out of a room if there wasn't a reason."

"Fine! You're really pushing my buttons for answers!" Monokuma seemed to break easily since they had only asked him twice so far. "The doors locked because Monomi has claimed it as her own. Honestly the only one who can get in and out of that room is her. Frankly she's not even supposed to be in this stupid game but you can't leave your little sister out of the fun, right?"

"M-Monomi is in there? This is where she's been this entire time?" Komaeda looked like he was about to laugh at the idea. "I reemember when I thought I was going crazy. How I thought she was all in my head."

"Yeah, don't we all wish it had stayed like that." Monokuma grumbled. "Either way she's prohibited from leaving her room now. She's not supposed to unlock or leave her room."

"Why would you force such rules on her? Why not just get rid of her?" Hajime requested.

"Well I'm not really supposed to talk about it." Monokuma mumbled, scratching one of his little ears with his paw. "But she's in trouble for breaking the rules!"

"Why would you two be restricted by the rules? Can't you all do whatever you want?" Himura wasn't about to just drop this conversation. Monokuma was just dishing out answers to everything they asked. How could Himura turn away from this moment. "Aren't you the ones who make the rules?"

"Of Course! But she can't just go around preventing murders and ruining the killing games we have planned. Those kinds of rules keep the game fair." Monokuma argued, swaying his hands in the air before aggressively pointing at Himura. "You know very well why she got in trouble! Without her e Kusonoki would definitely have killed you! Plus if she hadn't stuck her neck out Souda would have been dead as well! Do you know how _**excited**_ I was to kill a teacher? What that would have done for me? It was everything I had ever dreamed!"

"I didn't know she helped you prevent your murder." Hajime paused, now turning to face Himura. "Did you tell anyone about that?"

"No because I thought it was a weird hallucination. She showed up and spooked Kusonoki when she had me pinned to the ground. She distracted her long enough for me to knock her off of me." Himura explained. "I didn't have any idea she was real."

"But why keep her here if she's causing so many problems?" Komaeda asked. "Why not kick her out of the school?"

"Because we need Monomi's help. She may not seem like it but she loves punishing guilty murderers. _**Monomi is the one who designs all of our perfect, blood executions!**_ " Monokuma burst into laughter. "She's not me, we don't keep her here for her good looks! She designed a special executions for everyone here! A personalized punishment of each of you idiots. She was the one who designed Souda's Mini-Game as well. A small world, isn't it."

"Why didn't you design the executions?" Hajime questioned. "We all know you're messed up enough to design something so twisted so why not do it all yourself?"

"Because she has a bear-y special touch to all of her creations. One that I can't replicate no matter how hard I try." Monokuma paused, he must have noticed he was being leaked for answers because he suddenly turned away. "Anyways, I'll let you all get back to floor exploration. Though it's weird that there's only three of you looking up here."

"Don't play stupid." Himura grumbled, sick of anything the annoyingly high voice had to say. "You know just as well as everyone else that Koba is missing."

"Wh-What? What do you mean he's missing?" Monokuma turned back around, cupping his face in sock. "You're f-fucking with me!"

 _Did Monokuma just stutter?_ "Are you messing with us right now?" Himura crossed his arms. This joke wasn't very funny.

"NO! You're fucking with me! If he's missing I'm in so much trouble!" Monokuma said before vanishing back into one of his hiding holes in the school, leaving the group in a confused daze.

"Ah… He really had no idea that Koba was missing. For someone who's supposed to be so powerful it's strange he wouldn't notice such an obvious flaw." Komaeda remarked as he finally pulled himself away from the playroom. "So, shall we keep on searching?"

"Of course." Hajime nodded before looking to Himura. "What room should we examine next, Himura?"

Himura looked around the school, trying to locate anything that might seem of interest. Nothing seemed to really pop out at him, however. Himura shrugged before leading the teachers through the next few rooms.

The science lab was first on his list. It made sense that a cyntologist might be tucked away inside of a medicine's lab. Though upon closer examination Himura was sure the entire room was empty. Himura took a few minutes to examine the pricey chemicals on the wall and the expensive telescopes, a robotic arm, test tubes and machines Himura couldn't even recognize. Most of the room was white and spotless. Making it look as if no one had ever stepped foot inside this room. But then again, there wasn't a spot of dust so someone had to have been cleaning in here, right?

They soon moved onto the next room. They decided to hop over to the dojo. Surprisingly there wasn't too much that any of them could use as a weapon. The room seemed more like a place to relax and breath. Himura almost got the feeling he was supposed to meditate in this room. The most threatening object in the entire room were the mats laid out on the ground, positioned so that someone could practice fighting without actually hurting each other. Himura also Well, to be fair, accepted the fact that Koba was nowhere to be found in this room either.

Now it seemed as if it was time to really dive into the obvious location for the wannabe 'sk8r.' The door labeled SkatePark was weird. A strange addition to have on the fifth floor of a building. Well, Himura supposed it wasn't to strange for Hope's Peak Academy, especially since they had an Ultimate Skater. The more Himura thought about it, the less weird it was. They had a whole greenhouse on the second floor. A skate park couldn't be that different, right?

Honestly, the second they had seen the existence of a skate park, Himura wasn't worried about Koba's whereabouts anymore. There was no doubt in Himura's mind at this point that Koba was inside of that park. All that guy ever talked about was skating. About how good and cool he was. But at the same time, there was still a small cloud of doubt that fogged up the back of his mind. Iris's words bounced around in the back of this certainty he held. _If he had been coming to the Skate Park why would he have been running? There was no reason for him to be running. There was no way he could have known about this park until he gotten up to the fifth floor._ Hell, Himura was still unsure of why Koba would come to the fifth floor all alone.

"Do you think he's in here?" Hajime asked, glancing over at Himura.

"I sure hope so." Himura mumbled, taking a deep breath before pulling the door open and walking inside.

The smell of cement and wood washed over Himura the second he stepped inside. There were a few different kinds of ramps that caught Himura's eyes. They were steep, intense. And definitely made for professionals. Graffiti style spray paint lined all of the ramps, covering the entire place with beautiful, styled paint. Some were of weird, yet cool, characters. Others were sexy men and women. Of course there were a few Monokuma's sprayed in the center of the rinks. Those were probably the least interesting pieces of artwork in the entire room.

They seemed to have two different kinds of skating setups. One was cement and looked as if it was dragged out from underneath a bridge. It resembled the usual street skaters set up. Pipes to grind on and obstacles to jump. It was interesting to think of all the possible moves a talented skater could perform on just that half.

The second half of the park seemed more professional, carved from smooth wood and polished to perfection, even with the graffiti style art that half of the park looked like adept skater's paradise. There was even a ramp that shot straight up into the air, allowing the skater to fall straight down into a pit filled with blue foam squares.

Himura took note of the benches near the entrance. Rows of different kinds of skate boards, from long boards to tiny little boards that could barely fit two feet on them. Some stunt bikes were tucked into one of the corners next to some scooters. There were even roller skates and blades tied up on the wall. It seemed as if the room had anything a sk8r could dream of.

So where was Koba? This room seemed like his dream come true. Himura had really hoped that Fumio would just skate up to them in this room. He would have even been happy seeing him bleed out on the ground from a messy trick. But yet, he wasn't anywhere in this wonderland. _Koba… where the hell did you go?_

"There's no monitors in this room either." Komaeda said, his pale green eyes seemed to be carefully examining the room.

"You've noticed that too?" Himura asked, looking over at his teacher before looking back around the room. "Why do you think there's no monitors on this floor?"

"Do you think we should ask Monokuma?" Hajime spoke up next. "I imagine he'd just love telling us."

"Good idea." Komaeda praised. "But we should wait to ask until we find Kobayashi."

"I'm starting to get worried." Himura admitted. "Where do you think he went? I really thought he was going to be in here."

"There's still one room left." Hajime sounded as if he was trying to comfort him, "He must be in there or maybe someone found him on a different floor. Let's keep looking, okay?"

"Okay." Himura sighed, slowly starting to calm down as he followed the two teachers out the door.

As they stepped out, he watched as suddenly the rest of the groups arrived on this new floor. Himura's eyes slowly scanned over everyone, looking for the neon, saturated colors of Fumio. Yet as Sato brought up the rear, it became apparent that none of them had found the skater either.

"Any luck?" Iris asked as she wiggled her way to the front of the group. Her bright, blue eyes staring up at Himura. "Did you find him."

"No, but there's still one more room… He could be inside there." Himura responded, gesturing towards the door of the Hologram stage.

Iris paused, staring at it before walking over to the door. She took a long, deep breath before reaching out and trying the door.

 _ **Clunk Clunk Clunk**_

"I-It's locked!" Iris slowly pulled her hand off the handle, covering her mouth as she stared worriedly at the door.

They all watched as the door lite up like a screen, bright, pink words slowly scrolling across the door.

N

"B-But if he's not in here, where else can he be?" Iris questioned, rubbing the back of his neck as she swallowed hard. "There's no one else inside of the school for him to hide."

"Do you think he escaped?" Sato asked from the back of the group.

"Don't be ridiculous," Bellerose started, "Their is no way he could have escaped. Besides, he would never leave us all behind."

"If he did escape, maybe he went to go get help." Sato suggested. "Maybe that's why he went missing."

"Or maybe he's the traitor." Luna suggested.

"Come on Isadora, don't start this again. Now isn't the ti-" Himura started.

"I'm serious. Isn't it suspicious that he literally went missing. Vanished into thin air. Isn't it possible that he might be having a meeting with the mastermind? This is strange behavior and I think we should address it."

"Listen, there's no wait dorky, stupid little Koba could be the traitor. Betraying us would call for him to be savvy and brilliant. He could never pull it off." Kaito chuckled, dismissing it with a wave of his hand.

"Kaito's right. Koba wouldn't want us to get hurt. There's no way he's the traitor." Iris spoke up before looking around. "We have to find him. We can't lose another friend!"

"Yeah! We can't let Iris be sad! We gotta find him!" Koba cheered from the back of the group, suddenly standing behind everyone as he pumped his fist. "Wait, who are we looking for, everyone's here."

"What the FUCK!" Sato jumped away from Koba.

"Koba! Where have you been all morning?" Himura felt as if his jaw was about to drop. Where had he crawled from? Did he squeeze his scrawny ass into the air vents or something?

"In my room…? I just woke up." Koba suddenly looked confused.

"That's a lie! We went into your room and you weren't there." Iris seemed baffled as she clenched her small fists in front of her. "Where were you really?"

Koba looked started, his eyes slowly scanning over the entire group as they all glowered at him. He pulled his hands out of his jacket pockets, causing a pile of wrappers to tumble from his pockets along with a roomkey. It wouldn't have been suspicious if the nametag hadn't been so easy to read.

"That's Sweeney's roomkey!" Luna pointed down at the key, scolding Koba as she took a few steps forward. How did you get his key?"

"I-uuuh, I thought that was _my_ room key." Koba scratched underneath his hat, looking down at the key before bending down to pick it up. "I used it to lock my door and everything."

"Nice try! We're confiscating this and I'm keeping my eyes on you."The second Koba stood back to his feet Luna snatched the key away from him. It seemed to jingle in her hand before she passed it over to Himura. "Here Himura, I trust you'll take good care of this."

"Me?" Himura looked a little startled by how forceful she was being.

"Yeah, because you're the only one here that I trust." Luna started.

"Don't you think you're going a little bit overboard?" Bellerose asked. "It's just Koba, after all. The only person he'd ever hurt is himself. And even then that would be an accident."

"I think you're all being ridiculous! He's been acting so suspicious since we got here and yet you all follow him like blind sheep. Doesn't anyone else think it's weird that he went missing this morning? The guy can't even remember what his own parents names are but he claims he grew up with them."

"Who cares about that kind of stuff?" Sato objected.

"I do! This used to be my job, I used to hunt down people in despair. Me and Hotta were pros at figuring out who the killers were in local murders using these same tactics." LunaHotta suddenly looked sad, gently placing a hand on her chest. "If only Hotta was here now. If only she hadn't died."

"Luna, it's okay." Koba spoke up, reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder. "I don't blame you for finding me suspicious… It frustrates me so much that I'm missing so much of my memory… But if we work together we can figure out who the real mastermind is."

"You don't understand…" Luna sighed before hugging herself. " _ **Hotta had figured out who the traitor was before she died**_."

"W-Wait! What did she just say?" Souda blurted before grabbing his hat and pulling it over his eyes.

"That sounds unlikely." Komaeda remarked. "How could she discover the truth? She was only a lucky student."

"Fuck you, asshole. Hotta told me before she died that she had developed the perfect plan to figure out which of you were a liar. She wanted to make sure that everyone was who they said they were. She happened to go to the school store when the vending machine spit out exactly _**15 presents**_ after she put in one coin. Knowing her luck, she knew there would be one present for each student. Something that they would love."

People shift amongst the group. Obviously they were recalling the times that Hotta had given them presents during the first day. Even Himura remembered how she had given him that delicious bag of chocolate mocha beans. How could he possible forget such a present, especially since it was the only bag of the treat in the entire school. But he had no idea it had such a purpose.

"Hotta told me that two people had reacted very strangely to their gifts. She told me that she had a potential traitor under her thumb." Luna continued to explain. "She just needed the night to fully develop all of her thoughts and ideas."

"That was the night she died, wasn't it?" Komaeda responded, pulling a hand up near his face as he let out a dead chuckle. "So this is _**the real reasons she was murdered.**_ "

"W-Wait, what is that supposed to mean?" Luna glared over at the teacher like he'd just insulted her with his presence alone, let alone the words that came out of his mouth.

"Well, to be fair, Kagabu never had a real reason to murder anyone. Sure, it made sense that she killed to escape but if we had waited a week the motive would have passed. Monokuma hadn't even threatened us with anything yet."

"It was bothering me too… why wouldn't someone just wait the week? He was gonna let us go if we waited." Sato mentioned. "She didn't even wait a day, she killed Hotta right away."

"Exactly. But with this information, we learn a lot." Komaeda smiles, running his fingers through his hair. "We learn the real reason Hotta was targeted."

"But wouldn't that mean that Kagabu was the traitor?" Bellerose asked.

"No, she couldn't be the traitor. Monokuma said _**the traitor is alive and in our group.**_ " Luna explained. "While we can't trust Monokuma he had no reason to lie about that."

"But if she wasn't the traitor why would she commit murder for Monokuma." Sato asked.

Himura suddenly came to a new conclusion. He remembered an important detail that Luna had showed him. Though, at this moment it seemed more like a lack of details was the solution to this problem. Himura paused, taking a deep breath before he moved his way towards the center.

"I don't think Kagabu was even a part of our class."

"What? That's impossible." Hajime stated. "If she wasn't apart of your class, why would Monokuma stuff her into this game with you?"

"She had to be a student." Makoto argued. "When she died, I got a memory of her. She went to the school. She had an Ultimate title."

"We found a book… No, Luna found a book. One where you had all the first year students sign their names as they got accepted into the school… Do you remember doing that?" Himura went on, hoping he was on the right path with this line of thinking.

"Yeah, I thought it would be a good item to share as a memento of the first students in the new Hope's Peak Academy." Makoto responded, gently rubbing his hands together as he spoke.

"Well it was in the library. Luna showed it to me and to our surprise it didn't have Kagabu's name in the signatures." Himura explained.

"That doesn't mean she wasn't in your class." Souda objected. "Maybe she just refused to sign it."

"That would be possible if it wasn't for one little fact." Himura went on, feeling the thrill of solving a mystery bubble up in his chest once more. There was something powerful behind having all the answers. "There were 16 students' signatures inside of the book."

"Who cares?" Sato remarked. "So what if 16 students signed the page?"

"The problem with that is 16 students is the class size, isn't that right dad? So if Kagabu didn't sign the book yet we had a full class of signatures-" Kaito was catching onto Himura's point pretty fast.

"-than Kagabu really wasn't in your class." Makoto finished his son's sentence, looking startled as he pressed a hand to the side of his head.

"That makes so much more sense now!" Iris shouted out, suddenly participating in the group again. "Before Kagabu's execution she said we weren't her classmates! I always wondered why she would say something like that."

"But that also means she had all of her memories." Gundam added.

"UHG! This is so much to take in! Why would they put in a fake student?" Souda groaned. "What good would someone pretending to be in your class do?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Komaeda suddenly spoke up. "If they fill in the gaps no one would realize there was a student missing among us."

"So they were hiding the fact that we're missing a classmate from us?" Himura rubbed his jaw, thinking it over before nodding.

"Isn't it obvious what's going on here?" Luna looked as if they were finally catching up to her line of thinking. "The Mastermind has to be whoever this Mystery Student is."

"Then we already know who the mystery student is, don't we?" Komaeda smiled as he looked over at Himura. "You did say there were sixteen names written in the book, right?"

Suddenly Monokuma appeared in the center of the group, bouncing with each step as he looked over everyone. "What are you all standing in this hallway for? Are you all sharing some juicy gossip? I want in on some of that! You can't tell secrets without me!"

"Oh, it's nothing like that." Bellerose waved one of her hands to dismiss the bear. "We're just figuring out who you really are."

"Puhuhuhu! You think you all got this figured out?" Monokuma tested. "Hit me up with that shit! I love a good theory."

"Well we found a book with all of the student's of our classes signatures written inside. We knew who you really are Monokuma, or should I call you by your real name, Sae Suzuki?" Luna smirked, pointing her finger down at Monokuma with a victorious grin. "Eat shit you little fucker!"

Monokuma went silent. This was the first time the rest of the class had heard this name. Every student seemed to perk up, looking as if they had really solved this mystery, though Himura couldn't help but pick up on the startled look on Makoto's face when the name was uttered… that was something Himura would have to dig into later. The class' suspicions felt confirmed with Monokuma's reaction. Stiff like a doll. He made it seem like the life was sucked straight out of his body.

But could it ever have been this easy? Monokuma would never just leave the answers laying around the school, would he? While the monochromatic bear was a monster he wasn't sloppy. He had captured 16 students all on his own. He had taken over this school and overpowered the teachers. He would never waste it by accidentally placing all the clues for them to find. That would just be a waste of all of his efforts. In the end, he should have known what was going to happen next.

"So you think you have all the answers?" Monokuma asked, his voice going from playful to empty. His eye seemed to glow intensely as he stared Luna down.

"Yeah, duh! This makes sense. Why else would you have to fill Their spot with Kagabu? Otherwise we would know that someone is missing." Luna hadn't backed down yet.

"Let me ask you a question, sweetheart, _**do you even know a possible motive?**_ Why would Sae Suzuki be the mastermind behind this. What motive do they have to kill all of you?" Monokuma tested, his voice becoming strident as he tilted his head, putting a paw to the bottom of his jaw. Himura watched as some of the students took a step away from

"A motive? How could anyone have a reason to do this?" Luna objected.

" _ **Do you even know Sae's Ultimate?**_ " Monokuma tested.

"No? Does it matter? They're probably the _**Ultimate Despair**_ anyways. We all know that there is a new Despair. Who else could be controlling you besides another Ultimate Despair?" Luna slowly seemed to crumble. Himura knew she was trying to stay strong but there was only so much she could do. Their suspicions on who the killer was a beautifully crafted sand castle. While it looked and sounded structurally sound the tide would destroy it through all of it's flaws eventually. Monokuma just happened to bring the tide in early.

"No, answers like that will get you killed, dollface. You need solid evidence if you don't want to die." Monokuma didn't laugh. His seriousness was eerie, like some kind of twisted omen. "You don't even know if Sae is a _**boy or a girl!**_ You don't know their _**hair color**_ , their _**height**_ , their _**weight**_ or even their _**talent.**_ You're just blindly pointing your fingers at a meaningless name that you found in a book. _**Have you ever considered the possibility that they were murdered before the trial? Or maybe they're trapped inside this game just like you.**_ Either way your gratuitous theory is barely treading water. If you put all your weight on it, you'll just end up drowning."

Everyone seemed flabbergasted by Monokuma's derailment of Luna's arguments. Everyone was quiet as they seemed to panic. Luna clenched her fist, sweating bullets as she tried to dig up a whole new argument against the bear. Sat had her eyes closed, fingers digging through her deep red hair as she grew pale. Bellerose had her arms clenched, fingers digging into her arm like dough as she tried to collect herself. Even Iris seemed to be frustrated by this turn of events, cupping her hands over her face as she tried to hide her own fear.

But Himura didn't feel discouraged about these facts that had just been dropped at their feet. Was Himura the only one who picked up on the hidden elements of the information that Monokuma had just delivered to them. Some of the stuff he said was important. Sae could be a boy or a girl's name. Hell, for all they knew, it was possible that Sae didn't conform to any specific gender roles. They didn't even have a silhouette of what they could look like. Just a name. An empty, meaningless name. Throwing it around as if it was truth could get them killed.

...and that's where Monokuma had slipped up.

 _ **What reason did Monokuma have for telling them how imprudent their plan was?**_

Didn't it make more sense for Monokuma to let them sink their own ship. Why even bother explaining how stupid the idea was. It didin't seem like Monokuma was mocking them so what was his plans behind this? If he had just wanted to make them look stupid than why get so serious with them? He sounded like someone who was lecturing a peer, not like someone who was mocking a child.

"What's with that tone of voice you overrated care bear?" Kaito asked, his slender hand gently touching the side of his face. "You seemed to have broken character a bit there."

"Broke Character! PUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHU! You wish all of this was just for show!" Monokuma suddenly snapped back to normal, covering his mouth as if he was trying to contain all of his laughter. "Keep your silly actor slang to yourself, Ryuunosuke."

"But he's right," Himura started, "Why tell us we're wrong? Why not just let us suffer?"

"Maybe we're right and he's trying to throw us off the trail!" Sato jumped in.

"No… That doesn't make any sense." Bellerose groaned. "What he says is right. We can't just find a strange name and point our fingers at it."

Monokuma continued to laugh, putting both his paws over his mouth as he tried to contain himself. He was practically bouncing in his spot on the ground. "Now, if you don't mind I have more important things to do than talk to you twerps."

With that, Monokuma vanished from the group, leaving the last of them quietly gathered in the hallway. Silence fell over them before Luna slowly looked up from the ground. "So, I guess this is kind of it for today." She mumbled as she looked around.

"Don't be discouraged." Koba spoke up, taking a step forward as he adjusted his hat. "He spilled alotta beans right there. We got a buncha info we didn't have before."

"You really think so?" Luna seemed weary as the skater took a step closer. "What could he have said that was important."

"He pretty much told us Sae Suzuki's important. they could still be the mastermind… the way Monokuma clenched up like that was really suspish." Koba went on, his eyes scanning the group closely. "He pretty much told us what the important information about Suzuki we need to uncover."

"You're talking about how he asked if we knew his talent, right?" Bellerose questioned. "I don't see why that would be too important."

"Exactly! Junko's was the Ultimate Fashionista. That doesn't give us a single fucking clue to the fact that she was the mastermind!" Souda argued.

"With that kind of logic don't you see why the fact he mentioned it was important?" Kaito spoke next, the actor raising his finger as if he was slowly catching up with the rest of the group. "If it wasn't important he wouldn't have questioned it."

"Ah, yes." Komaeda breathed out the words as he rais a hand towards his face. "Which means that the student's _**height, weight, and appearance**_ might be important as well."

"But this isn't helpful now!" Souda grumbled, pulling his hat down over his eyes. "I want this game to be over! I want to have the info and smash this asshole into the ground now! I can't go through another one of those Mini-Games. I can't watch another student die. I CAN'T HANDLE THIS ANYMORE!"

"Silence, you are only making a fool of yourself, Kazuichi." Gundam put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it gently to try and relax him. "That kind of behavior is exactly what Monokuma wants."

"I Don't care! I can't do this anymore!" Kazuichi trembled as he dug his own fingers into his scalp. "I lost my fucking leg and you can't pretend you're fine either! I-I want to give up!"

Hinata stepped in as Souda suddenly started to sob. He stepped over, blocking the scene's view as much as he could with his lanky body. He put a hand on both Souda and Gundam's shoulders, taking a deep breath before slowly pushing them towards the stairs.

"I know, don't worry. Nothing else is going to happen to you. We're getting close to figuring out what's going on here. I know it's hard not to give up but we can do it, if we work together we ca-"

"Oh shut it! It's easier for you! You have _**a reason to get out of here**_! Of course it's easy for you to _**imagine**_ that this is almost over because it's easy for you to hope that you'll get to see your daughter again. Maybe it's time for you to realize we're going to die this time! Th-th-th-this isn't a fucking virtual world this time! Everyone is fucking dead! We don't even know if our other friends are alive! Sonia, Ibuki, Nekomaru, Mikan, Pekoyama, Fuyuhiko are all probably dead! Maybe it's time to open your eyes and see that Kouki is probably de-"

"That's impossible." Komaeda cut Souda's agitated tirade short as he suddenly had a wild look in his eyes. "I know Kouki is alive. You're letting despair cloud that thick skull of yours. Guess it was always hard for gas to escape that metal trap you call a brain. Do yourself a favor and go back to your room. Get some sleep. Try to chill out. Finally take a shower and wash that greasy hair of yours. Maybe that'll help uncloud your head. When you're ready to have a civilized conversation I'll be here. But for now, you better stop being such a paltry coward before I break your other leg."

Everyone was shell shocked by the sudden bite behind his usually feeble voice. His pale green eyes were pools of something raw and frigid. Himura didn't even notice he was holding his own breath from watching this scene unfold. In silence, Kazuichi turned and left, shouldering his way past Gundam before running past him and down the stairs in a frightened hurry.

Gundam groaned, rubbing his head like he wanted to say something. But he must have decided to go against it before he went and headed down the stairs after Souda. Glancing back at Hajime sadly before following the mechanic out of the room.

"Y-you can't talk to Souda like that!" Sato objected. "You can't threaten him like that you fucking freak!"

"Oh, are you saying that I'm the one in the wrong? You're defending him?" Komaeda turned. His ravenous eyes were suddenly turned onto Sato. His movement was loose now as he turned his body, his arms flopping lazily at his sides. "Are you saying that it was okay that he told me my daughter is dead?"

"N-NoI just-" Sato stumbled. Himura could see the dread that suddenly slammed into her tall frame.

"He's lucky that's all I said! Hahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Next time I-"

"Komaeda! That's enough! You're scaring the students." Hajime moved over, gently but forcefully grabbing his wrist before tugging him closer to his own body. "You need to sit down. You need to take a deep breath."

Hajime dragged Komaeda to the stairs. The two of them disappearing down the staircase in a quick, brisk walk. Now, Makoto was the only teacher left in a room full of panicking students. It didn't take long for Sato to bolt as well, looking uncomfortable with her encounter with Komaeda. She headed down the stairs, waiting long enough that she wouldn't run into the teachers on her way down to her room.

Sato was the one who seemed to finally break down the dam. With her exit, the other students uncomfortable shuffled away from each other. Luna seemed defeated and Bellerose looked exhausted as the two of them went down the stairs. Makoto went to speak, to try and talk to the four remaining students. But the second he opened his mouth, Kaito left the room as well.

Koba chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head as he took a step forward. "A-At least the four of us are still here. W-We could spend some time together and maybe try to calm down out friends later."

"Koba… where were you?" Iris asked, walking up to Koba with a worried look. "When I saw your bedroom door open I was really worried! I thought you were dead!"

Koba paused, rubbing his neck as he was trying to think it all over. "I told you I was in my room… or at least I thought I wa- wait did you say you were worried about me? Aw shucks Iris!"

Iris sighed, maybe Koba didn't notice but Himura saw her shoulder off her annoyed look. She rubbed the back of her head before giving a gentle smile. "Well at least you're okay. I guess I should be happy about that."

"So… what do the three of you plan on doing?" Makoto asked, looking worried as he took a few steps closer to them. "Everyone ran off so fast I couldn't even talk to them."

"We can go check out the classrooms." Himura suggested. "We only skimmed them while we were looking for Koba so we didn't do any proper examinations."

"Good idea!" Makoto smiled, walking towards the classrooms with a smile. I doubt we'll find anything useful but at least we can be productive with our time.

"I would barely call it productive to explore rooms that are probably empty." Himura mumbled.

"But what else can we really do?" Koba inquired, adjusting his jacket on his shoulders as he looked around the new floor. "Besides, spending time together is always worth it."

"You're absolutely right!" Makoto was practically cheering as he followed Koba's lead. "Creating a bond between everyone is the only way we can stop these murder games in their tracks!"

"I don't think that's all it takes." Himura mumbled as they walked towards the nearest classroom. "But there's no doubt that it helps stop these murders."

"Well… I can't see any of us who are left committing murder." Iris said gently as she kept up with them. "Everyone who is left is so close to each other. Even Bellerose and Sato seem to have formed a friendship. I have a hard time imagining any of us killing each other."

"Except for Luna." Koba sighed. "She doesn't like me very much."

Himura paused, he knew a lot of behind the scenes for the reasoning behind her suspicions. While he felt like she was far of course on the mastermind he also understood where her suspicions rooted from. Some of the stuff Koba said didn't add up. He didn't want to tell that to his friend. No, he didn't want to cause more problems for the obviously stressed Kobayashi. Besides, their might be another way to solve Luna's suspicions.

"I think you just have to talk to her. Let her get to know you like the rest of us have. If she had the chance to know you better I don't think she'd try so hard to pick apart everything you say." Himura suggested, hoping his own words were true.

"You really think that's all it takes?" Koba questioned, hesitating at the next room before slowly pulling the door open. "Then I'll be sure to hang out with her more."

The four of them walked into this classroom with a slightly more positive outlook. Himura felt a bit better watching as Koba seemed to smile a bit. Everyone relished in the possibility of this entire game being over. While Everyone knew it would never be as easy as just making friends, the idea seemed to lighten the load, even if it was only a little bit.

The inside of these classrooms looked just like the ones on the previous floors. Inside was a large chalkboard that covered up an entire wall. There were even monitors and cameras in this room again. It felt weird, being in that empty hall without a single monitor in sight. Maybe he had just grown used to them in his time trapped inside of this place but just the absence of the familiar tool felt erie.

Iris and Koba walked over to the chalk board. The two of them looking over the chalk drawings sketched onto the wall. These ones seemed cuter than some of the drawings on the first and second floor. They honestly reminded Himura of someone in the early segments of learning how to draw, coping from popular children's animes. Or maybe that was just a weird impression Himura got as he saw the large eyes Monomi that was drawn onto the board. The cute bunny seemed to be talking on an old phone. The kind of phone Himura had only seen in old movies and tv shows. The artist had also drawn tons of stars and hearts all around Monomi, making her look cute, happy, and excited. Himura did happen to notice the string of numbers that seemed to be tossed all over the board. _6 666 66 666 55 8 666 66 8 555 33 8 88 7777 9 777 444 8 33 666 66 8 44 33 22 666 2 777 3 2 66 999 6 666 777 33._ They were almost written as if someone was practicing their numbers for the first time.

"I hate to say it but this one is really cute!" Iris remarked, walking up to the Monomi and giggling.

"Well, maybe it helps that the bunny isn't the one actively trying to get us to kill each other." Himura added, getting an approving nod from Iris as they all looked over the drawing.

"Well, Usami was created by the Ultimate Therapist. _**She's meant to be soft and comforting. Recently she was revamped and used to help with anxiety issues in children.**_ " Makoto gleefully stated these facts, raising his finger as he spoke. "It only makes sense that she isn't nearly as threatening as Monokuma."

"Well, it doesn't look like there's a lot to see here, we might as well head to the next room." Himura watched as everyone seemed to follow him to the next classroom. Everything was the same except this room had a different drawing on the board. Again, a cute Monomi decorated the board. This time the bunny was happily watering one small, singular flower. Himura got a little closer to the board as he saw Iris scoop up one of the pieces of chalk to start drawing on the patch of grass in front of Monomi. When Himura got closer, however. He saw another stream of strange numbers. All of them scratched with a wobbly hand. _8 44 444 7777 444 7777 66 8 44 666 7 33. 444 3 444 3 8 44 444 7777 333 666 77 999._

Himura glanced over to see Iris sketching even more plants under the bucket. Her sketches were loose yet pristine, almost like the kind of drawings you'd see in scientific journals. Now that Himura thought about it, the idea of her sketching flowers for her own scientific studies made a lot of sense. She drew several flowers. Surprisingly enough, Himura recognized the main flowers Iris was drawing as… well Irises.

"Woah Iris! That looks really pretty." Koba remarked, smiling at Iris' drawing on the board.

"Thanks, I chose the kinds of flowers that I thought Usagi would like." Iris explained.

"Well you picked some very nice flowers." Makoto smiled as he looked over their drawing. "I imagine that Usagi would love them."

The group soon moved onto the next room and were disappointed in seeing a change of art style. It was back to the simple yet classy doodles of the ones on the lower flower. A Monokuma sat in the center of the board. The evil stuffed toy skipped across the board as he carried a baseball bat over his shoulder. Seeming to swing it happily as he pranced across the scene.

" _Nothing like a good game of hide and seek with the kids in the neighborhood"_ was scrawled across the board with neat handwriting. Himura took a few steps closer, taken off guard for a moment that this board had words again.

"I wanna draw on the board now too!" Koba said as he quickly grabbed up the eraser. "Besides, I doubt any of us want to look at this loser anymore, right?"

Right before Koba erased, before he took away the chalk from the dark green board, he saw another string of letters written so carefully into the baseball bat Monokuma was lugging with him. From a distance it was just the texture of the bat, but up close someone could easily see the very specific string of numbers. _6 2 999 22 33 444 8 7777 66 666 8 8 666 555 2 8 33 6 2 999 22 33 999 666 88 222 2 66 7777 8 444 555 7777 2 888 33 6 33._

Koba swept up the numbers before Himura could commit them to his memory, sweeping them away and knocking them out of Himura's conscious mind. Guess that in the long run, they were probably nonsense. They couldn't be a code for anything, a number stream that long would be impossible to type into a machine. Most computers had a syllable limit of 12 on their passwords so it couldn't be anything like that. They were most likely created to throw them onto a wild goose chase to decode some stupid message that boiled down to some fake ad.

"I'm gonna draw me doing a sick skating trick." Koba announced as he slowly started to scribble onto the chalkboard. Iris joined him, grabbing a spare piece of chalk before she started scribbling on the board besides the skater.

Himura smiled slightly before sitting back on one of the desks, watching as his two friends happily drew all over the board. Himura only glanced away as Makoto came and sat next to him, sitting on the desk itself before looking a bit awkward about it and moving to sit in the chair instead. The barista couldn't help but wonder if this was because he too short to get up on the desk or if he felt rude sitting on the table part of the desk. Either way. Himura followed his lead, moving to sit in the actual chair so he didn't have to awkwardly turn to face the teacher.

There was a moment of silence as Himura observed his friends. Himura felt he could learn a lot from watching his friends draw. Koba's art style could only be described as unplanned. A wild mess of lines and shapes tossed together to make a beanpole like figure with a big hat on his head and a skateboard under his feet. He was doing a kickflip over some unidentified shape. Koba then quickly went to doodle everyone else clapping next to him as they watched him perform his _radical maneuvers._

Iris was drawing on the other half of the board, drawing a pretty scene from the greenhouse. It was really cute as she started to draw herself sitting in this meadow of flowers.

"So, I've uh, noticed you and Kaito have gotten pretty close." Makoto suddenly broke the silence between them. Rubbing his neck as he glanced over at Himura.

"Yeah… i guess you could say that." Himura suddenly felt awkward. This was Kaito's dad. Was this what it felt like to go on a date and get questioned by their father while they were getting ready? It probably helped that Makoto was the least scary person Himura had ever met. "I don't really know what's going on, honestly. I asked if he wanted to be… my boyfriend but he said that we shouldn't think about that kind of stuff until we're out of here."

"Well, that sounds about right. Kaito was never too big on settling into relationships… platonic or romantic relationships always were hard on him." Makoto was suddenly speaking a lot quieter than before. A soft tone from an already gentle voice. "I'm just worried. Ever since this game started he's refused to talk to me…"

"Oh… did anything happen before this event that might have upset him?" Himura questioned, pulling his eyes off the chalkboard even more now.

"Well he hasn't had another acting job since the movie based on my Killing Game… It made him really antsy for awhile." Makoto explained. "Though I know getting the title of Ultimate Actor helped make him feel a bit better… I know he thinks I gave it to him because he's my kid…"

"I can try and ask him about it if you'd like? See what's bothering him?" Himura offered as he scratched the back of his head.

"Himura I would really appreciate that." Makoto smiled a little, his voice picking back up as he spoke.

"You know, I've never actually seen the movie where Kaito plays you. I always figured it was a worthless watch since the killing game was broadcasted live anyways." Himura decided to lighten the topic a little. "Must have been really weird to have your son play a sexier, taller version of yourself, right?"

Makoto looked slightly startled by what Himura had just asked. Maybe he'd upset him by calling his son sexy. In retrospect that was probably a really bad idea.

"You know, Kaito was actually just a bit shorter than me when he made that movie. He hadn't gone through his growth spurt yet. Kaito was only 11 when they started that movie." Makoto explained.

"W-Wait what? But he said he's been in tons of movies before." Himura questioned further.

"Yeah… he was a famous child actor…" Makoto continued. "He was in a bunch of movies as the main character but they were all focused towards children. The Killing Game Movie was his first real role."

"I-I never knew that before." Himura leaned back in his seat as he thought it over. "Were those movies at least… popular?"

"No… they were all horrible. Not his acting of course! He was such a good actor and he really tried his hardest. But the movies he was cast in… they weren't anything special. Very bland characters and not as good actors as Kaito. They were one dimensional mystery and romance stories. He worked and acted constantly, job after job. But I could see he was getting tired of all these mediocre roles. So he decided to take all that money and fund a whole new movie."

"You're kidding… an 11 year old funded that whole movie?" Himura knew everyone was an Ultimate for a reason. They had been labeled with their talents for very specific reasons. Most of the people who stepped inside this school were famous. Their names known to the world because of their amazing feats. Yet the idea of an 11 year old funding a movie about a tragedy wasn't something Himura ever expected to hear. "Why did he want to do the Killing Game of all things?"

"He told me it was to honor me… he wanted to show how much he loved us all and tell our story in a new light…" Makoto sighed before running his fingers through his hair. "It still makes me feel bad that none of us could handle watching the movie… I think Kirigiri was the only one who was able to watch the whole thing."

"That makes sense… I'd never be able to watch something like that." Himura explained, flashing back to his own past trauma. He'd never want to watch a movie recreating it. But he couldn't help but worry how that might have impacted Kaito as well. The idea of creating something important for someone you love to have them never watch what you made sounded… soul crushing.

Himura suddenly remembered the event from earlier. Makoto had made a face to his name. "Makoto, if you don't mind me asking, you seemed to have a reaction to Sae Suzuki's name… do you know them?"

"Y-Yes, actually! I was confused where I heard that name before but speaking about that old movie reminded me. They helped on the movie!" Makoto cheered, seeming glad that he finally recovered his lost memory.

"Do you remember what they did or even what their talent was?" Himura perked up, the answers seemed so close.

"Unfortunately… No… I don't remember what his talent was." Makoto sighed, looking embarrassed as he scratched the back of his head. "And I don't think the memory was erased either… I just can't recall what he did to help."

"But wasn't they awarded the title of Ultimate? If they're an Ultimate working on a famous movie, shouldn't they be important. Like, wouldn't that be something you remember?" Himura was a bit startled the teacher had just forgot.

"Well, to be fair I do remember offering the title of Ultimate to them but they turned it down." Makoto explained. "they said they didn't deserve the honor."

"But if they signed that book that means they joined the school, right?"

"Yeah…" Makoto sighs. "Sorry I can't remember more. I'm so embarrassed I just forgot one of my students like that."

"It's okay." Himura sighed, guess he wasn't any closer to figuring out who the mystery student was. Though maybe there was something he could learn from this encounter. Whoever Sae Suzuki was, _**they were forgettable and didn't think their talent was special.**_ Himura couldn't help thinking of Koba. The scientist prefered his hobby of skating to his talent in curing cancer. Was the situation something similar to that? Plus if he worked in a movie how could his talent be useless? Yet Makoto couldn't even remember what the student did on the set of the movie.

"Woah Iris!" Koba suddenly broke through Himura's train of thought. "That looks so cute!"

Himura looked back up towards the chalkboard, seeing the drawings as the two of them stepped back to observe their work.

Himura could barely keep the sigh inside of his body as he laid eyes on the picture Koba drew, the image crudely drawn of him doing a kickflip as everyone else cheered around him. There was even a picture of Himura and Himura could only tell it was supposed to be a picture of himself thanks to the coffee mug drawn in place of his hands.

Iris' drawings, however, were super cute. They weren't nearly as detailed as the perfected drawings of the flowers she had sketched across the board. The Botanist's drawings of people were some of the cutest things Himura had ever seen. She mainly gave them dots for eyes and chubby little fingers. She had drawn an even cuter version of herself kneeled down in the center of the near her was a tiny hooded figure kneeling. Now that… was a little strange.

"Iris… what's that?" Himura asked as he stood up from his seat.

"Oh? That's the ghost who lives in the garden!" Iris smiled as she went to shade her cute drawings some more. "She's really nice but she can't talk. Sometimes she just likes to sit and watch me garden."

"When did you see this ghost?" Makoto asked.

"Oh, I started seeing her when I spent the late nights inside of the garden. I think she stays there because she doesn't like the camera's and a lot of it is obscured by plants." Iris giggled as she kept doodling. "Her favorite kind of flower is an anemone!"

"Wh-what color is that jacket?" Koba asked, looking a bit frightened as he looked over the board.

"Oh the jacket is green!" Iris smiled as she put the chalk back in the holder.

"I've seen her too! In my dreams!" Koba was practically jumping with excitement. "I've chased her through the school twice."

"Wh-What! Why would you chase her? She gets scared so easily!" Iris seemed shocked by Koba's confession.

"I-Well what else am I supposed to do when I see a weird girl standing at the top of the stairs?" Koba suddenly seemed flabbergasted. "I was trying to talk to her and she's the one who ran away."

"Was there anything else noticeable about her?" Makoto questioned as he took a few more steps toward Iris. "Maybe a symbol on the coat or a pattern?"

"Well she had a big 55 on the back of her jacket. Would that be something that was important?" Iris seemed a bit worried, slowly pulling her hands to her chin as she looked around.

"I'll see you kids tomorrow." Makoto rubbed his neck, looking deep in thought as he headed towards the door. "Make sure you all go to bed soon, it's getting late. Head to your rooms together too, don't let anyone walk around alone, got it?"

They all watched as Makoto left the room, leaving the group in silence as Iris seemed to look even more confused. Glancing over the other two left in the room as she covered her mouth.

"Iris… why didn't you tell us you were seeing a ghost?" Himura was perplexed that his friend had kept this information from him.

"Well I had told Kusonoki. I figured everyone else wouldn't believe me. Plus I didn't want to bother anyone with my ghost sightings," Iris confessed, no longer able to make eye contact with any of her friends.

"Iris, you need to be more honest when something weird happens." Himura felt a bit exasperated at the idea of keeping this a secret. For all they knew, this hidden figure could be Sae Suzuki. Iris could have been seeing this secret student this entire time!

"Well everyone was worried about the trials and I didn't want to add to all of that." Iris hugged herself gently. "I didn't think it was important. Was I wrong? Should I have said something sooner?"

"Yes… But you should tell us if something strange happens." Himura offered, trying to be reassuring. "There's a chance that the figure you saw could be the secret student."

"What? She would never do something like that!" Iris was almost offended by the suggestion. "She's too cute to be evil! The way she makes flower crowns with me and helps me garden she could never be the mystery student."

"I-I want to make flower crowns with Iris… that's not fair." Koba mumbled under his breath, pouting to himself.

Himura rolled his eyes. He loved his friends but sometimes putting up with this kind of stuff was very trying. "Iris, a weird, hooded figure who only appears at night and doesn't talk is super suspicious. So please Iris, next time you see a ghost in one of your rooms please tell us."

"..." Iris rubbed her arm, looking a bit nervous as she absorbed Himura's words. "Okay… If I see her again… I'll tell you right away."

"Thank you." Himura sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he glanced around, suddenly exhausted from this weirdly long day. "How about we all head to bed. We can get a nice, long night's sleep and spend some time together tomorrow, okay?"

"Oh! I would love that!" Iris cheered, seeming to perk up as this new idea was presented to her. "Some quality time with friends would really help take my mind off of all this death."

"No kidding." Himura said as he glanced over at Koba. "Let's go, okay Koba?"

"Yeah Homie! I'm ready to catch some zzz's! I feel like I haven't slept in ages!" Koba adjusted his hat on his head, grinning wildly as the three of them started walking back to their dorms.

"I really wish you'd stop calling me homie." Himura chuckled.

"What? It's a term reserved for my bestest friends! You should be honored!" Koba retorted.

"I wanna be someone's homie! Can I be a homie too?" Iris asked, clenching her fists as she seemed to gain determination from the idea.

Koba's face turned red as he scratched the back of his neck. "Y-Yeah, I'd consider you a homie too!"

"Yay!" Iris cheered, bouncing as she walked with everyone back to the doors. "I'm so glad to have wonderful homies like you guys!"

Himura suddenly felt even more tired as the two of them continued to shout these words back and forth. Yet, below all of this annoyed shell he felt a slight warmth at the bond the three of them shared. Is this what friendship felt like? He smiled a bit as he went to his own room, wishing the rest of them goodnight. This is what he'd never had growing up. What he lacked his entire life. Love, friendship, relationships where people actually care what happens to him. It was sad it took the events of this killing game for him to finally gain this kind of companionship. It really helped him feel even more determined to keep them safe.

As Himura laid in his bed he suddenly remembered something. Kaito's secret was still in it's envelope on his nightstand. The actor had asked him to read it so that he could trust him yet the barista had never opened it up to reveal the contents. Why had he waited so long to look inside. Was it because he already trusted his almost boyfriend? Or was it the fear that something horrible rested inside that white envelope.

Maybe now was the time to open it…?

Walking over to the table, Himura gently pulled it into his hands, carefully peeling the top off the reveal the slip of paper inside. It was even still sealed. The idea that Kaito didn't even look inside before giving it up to the barista made Himura hesitant. The actor had trusted him with something that could be extremely private. Maybe it was from his childhood? Even before the actor was adopted by his new father? What kind of information would he learn about him? Right now his excitement and nerves were having a full blown battle in his gut and he couldn't decide which one would win as he finally tugged the piece of paper out of it's case.

What he read… he couldn't believe it. Was it all some kind of joke? Now he wasn't sure this was the real one Monokuma had given the Actor. Had they switched it out before giving it to Himura? What if Kaito had lied and gave him this paper just to make him feel better. But thinking back, Kaito seemed eager to find out what was inside this paper too. Either way, Himura wasn't sure how to feel about this. Part of it made his face grow red if it was true. But at the same time, how could it be true. Part of him wanted to throw it away and another wanted to keep it with him at all times. He settled on putting it back in the envelope on the table before heading to bed. If it was true… what a weird secret that could never be a motive.

 _You already admired Kazuki Himura._


	24. Love Blossoms in the Garden

Himura sat up, rubbing his eyes as he dragged himself out of bed. The morning announcement played in the background but he tried his hardest to just block it from his current thoughts. He slowly walked over to his coffee machine, about to activate it as he heard the sudden knocks at the door.

 _Thud Thud Thud!_

Himura chuckled, remembering his promise from last night and decided to put his coffee on hold until he sat down for breakfast. He quickly got dressed, tying his apron as he opened the door to see Iris outside.

"Good morning Himura! Are you ready for a beautiful day? We came to wake you up!" Iris smiled, her hands folded behind her back.

"We?" Himura asked, peeking outside the door only to get a face full of Kaito as he swung into the door frame. Himura hadn't even seen the tall figure until it was too late.

"Good morning darling. We got up early and made a special breakfast just for you! Then we can brew you up a nice cup of coffee." Kaito smiled, cupping his hands together in front of his chest as he looked down at Himura.

"Plus Kaito is letting me decorate it so it's going to be one of the cutest cups of coffees you've ever had!" Iris clapped her hands together, smiling as she seemed to be filled with excitement.

"Everyone is already in the dining hall waiting for you! We all got up early so that we could spend special time together." Iris continued, reaching out to grab Himura's wrist and start to drag him down to the room.

When they arrived in the kitchen, everyone was already there. The table was set and food was laid out at all 7 of the chairs. The students who had already gathered were waiting near the door, standing until the moment Himura came in. One of the first people the barista laid his eyes on was Bellerose, the chef looked pleasantly surprised as well.

"Looks like you finally got him to come." Bellerose stated. "Wasn't it your idea to have everyone try to cook without me?"

"Nah, that was my idea!" Koba smiled, crossing his arms over his chest while looking fairly pleased with himself. "I wanted to give you a break from cookin all the time! It was supposed to be a gift."

"Yeah but instead you almost burned down the entire school." Bellerose looked irritated, her brow crinkling with frustration as she crossed her arms. Yet Himura saw the small smile that curled up the corner of her lips.

"Aw, it wasn't that bad!" Koba was practically whining.

"The pan was literally on fire. If I hadn't come in when I did you would probably be dead!" Bellerose shot back.

"Well at least I'm fast enough to grab the fire extinguisher!" Sato jumped in, putting her arms on her hips as she raised up her chin.

"Koba, why would you think it's a good idea to cook without Bellerose around?" Himura questioned.

"Well she always works so hard to make breakfast for us I thought it would be nice if she could just sit down and enjoy it for once!" Koba retorted.

"Ya should have seen the fire, though! It was huge!" Sato was laughing at this point, amused by the fact that Koba had messed up so badly. "I don't even know how it got that bad!"

"Well how was I supposed to know not to put water on a grease fire?" Koba whimpered, hurt by the large amounts of mockery that were being thrown his way.

"Most people know not to do that." Luna spoke up from her spot near the wall.

Koba looked like he was on the verge of tears. Ready to break down at any moment from all of this teasing. None of it felt malicious though. Even though he had started a fire, Bellerose seemed pretty laid back about it.

"Well, that's enough of this. I want to watch Himura lay those lips on the delicious drink I made just for him!' Kaito suddenly worked his way to being the center of attention. "If we take too long the whipped cream will melt and he'll never be able to enjoy it properly!"

"Then he'll miss all the cute decorations I made just for him too." Iris suddenly looked upset too. The idea of her work being lost without being admired first must have been hard for her too. "All that careful planning and work for nothing."

"Alright." Bellerose rolled her eyes as she took a seat at the table. "After Koba's accident I decided to make tamagoyaki and some miso soup for all of you to enjoy."

"Uuuuuhg! Miso soup is so boring! I was gonna make something a lot more exciting!" Koba stated as he took a seat at the table. "You're all really missing out just because I don't know how to cook."

"Not to be rude," Kaito started as he took a seat at the table next to Himura's dedicated spot, "but I'd be afraid of anything you made for everyone."

"If Koba wanted to try and cook I would be willing to try it!" Iris smiled, taking her seat and picking up her own pair of floral chopsticks. "I bet he'd put as much love as he possibly could into every bite."

"With the junk you eat Koba I bet it would be packed with my daily dosage of energy!" Sato barked as she settled into her chair.

"You don't need any more energy." Bellerose joked. "You're already too hyperactive as it is."

"Koba, what did you even try to make?" Himura couldn't help but wonder what the cytologist had created inside the kitchen.

"It was revolutionary! The most spontaneous, off the hook, phat meal you've ever sank your teeth into." Koba smiled, though his jumbled mess of words didn't help him understand what he had tried to create at all.

"It looked like some kind of casserole to be honest." Bellerose grumbled as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "But it was so burn we had no idea of what he had crammed inside it."

"There was definitely cheese and I swore I saw some of those weird fruit snacks he eats crammed inside." Sato added through laughter. "It smelled horrible!"

"Himura, how about you come take a seat? Your drink is going to melt." Kaito said as he kicked the chair out a bit, opening up the seat for Himura.

Himura chuckled, taking the seat next to Kaito. Before Himura could even react the actor pulled the chair in with just a leg. The barista was always so impressed with how strong the other man was. He now turned towards his breakfast. The plate was beautifully decorated, as to be expected from something constructed from the Ultimate Chef. An interesting sauce was drizzled over the top in a zigzag pattern. It looked a lot nicer than when he usually had tamagoyaki. Though he usually just stuck to a simple bowl of rice or bread for breakfast before he came here.

The drink was the the most exciting part for Himura, however. He had never expected such a gift from all of his friends. He reached out, scooping the cup closer to him to get a better look. The top of the drink had a thick, cream like marshmallow topping it. Iris had shaped this dessert decoration into a small dog poking it's head out of the cup, putting it's paws against the rim and giving the impression it was pushing itself out of the cup. They roasted the ears and nose of the dog, making them a slightly darker shade than the rest of the dog. Iris had tossed tons of star shaped sprinkles all over the top of the drink, splashing it with a bunch of colors. Iris had added even more color by adding a few violets and tucked them in near the back of the drink.

"Don't worry," Iris paused as Himura looked over the drink, "violets are edible so you can eat them right up!"

"Well I'm glad you're not going to poison me." Himura joked as he went to take a sip. It was hard to get to the actual coffee underneath all of this cream but when he finally got a sip of the surprisingly warm drink underneath he felt his face heat up. It was warm and a splendid mix of bitter and sweet, perfectly balancing the bitterness he loved of caffeine and the sweet chocolatey desserts he desired. He took another long drink, trying to hold back just how happy he was.

When he set the cup down on the table, Himura was quickly greeted by Kaito's thumb, the actor swiftly wiping away a bit of of the marshmallow that had stuck itself to Himura's nose. Chuckling as he leaned a little closer, wrapping his arm over the back of the barista's chair. "So did you like it?"

"Like it, I love it." It was weird, Himura never felt the need to hold back excitement like this. But here he was. It was so hard to do anything but chug the drink down as fast as he could. "Where did you learn to make coffee like this?"

"Well when you're a famous actor like me you take the time to study every role you could potentially use in character." Kaito smiled before moving to tuck a rose behind Himura's ear.

Himura chuckled as he went back to slowly sipping the drink. Not even noticing as he leaned up against Kaito's shoulders. He swore he could feel the muscles tense slightly as he did so.

"Do you like my puppy?" Iris asked, "I based it on the kind of dog I've always wanted."

"I love it Iris, you did a good job." Himura said with a smile.

"Wait, Iris, why is the sauce on your food darker than mine? The inside is different too, is it just because of the vegetarian mumbo jumbo stuffed inside?" Koba asked, leaning over towards Iris' plate. His chopsticks were positioned in a way that looked as if he was about to scoop it right off her plate.

"No. Bellerose just makes mine with some spice to it." Iris said as she scooped another bite into her mouth. "I asked her to give it a bit of flavor that reminds me of home."

"Some spice?" Koba seemed even more interested in it. "Can I try some?"

"Of course! I love sharing my food!" Iris smiled as she cupped her own cheek.

"I wouldn't do it if I were you Koba." Bellerose warned.

"Why? Just because I don't eat vegetables very often doesn't mean I'll hate something that's vegetarian." Koba remarked, practically teasing the idea of him disliking the food.

Koba took a bit that was a little too big. Popping the chunk into his mouth with a big smile on his face. He chewed on it a bit, smiling with his usual big, goofy grin. With a mouth full of half chewed food he started to talk.

"Wow this is really tasty I really like i-," Suddenly Koba started to talk, his voice cut off by coughing while he tossed his chopsticks onto the table. His eyes watered as he desperately seemed to catch himself.

"Oh my god is he choking?" Luna barked, jumping to her feet.

"No, if he was choking he wouldn't be breathing." Bellerose seemed pretty chill as she sipped her own drink. "Iris has always had me load her food with the hottest peppers and spices we have stocked in the kitchen. In truth she's almost impossible to cook for because I have to taste everything and make sure it's all up to par."

"Then why don't you just not taste her food?" Kaito asked.

"As a chef I can't let a dish pass through my station without me at least trying it first. That would be disrespectful to my work." Bellerose remarked, standing to her feet before heading towards the kitchen. "I'm going to go get Koba a glass of milk before he dies."

"Once I saw Bellerose's eyes all red and watering! I thought she was cryin but it turned out she was making dinner for Iris. She's super serious about her rules as a chef, she always follows them when she's cookin," Sato spoke, though she looked as if she was about to break into laughter watching Koba slam his hands onto the table, coughing even harder than before.

"I didn't even think it was spicy." Iris gently confessed, messing with the food on her plate as she worriedly watched Koba's episode. "I didn't know it was so hard for Bellerose to cook…"

"Ah no way! She loves a challenge! She was so glad when you brought her something difficult!" Sato remarked. "Honestly I think she's a little into the pain it gives her if you know what I mean."

"Gross." Luna mumbled as she sat back down in her seat, quietly going back to her breakfast.

Bellerose walked back in with a cup of water and a spoon filled with what looked like sugar. She kneeled down next to Koba and slammed the cup onto the table. "Drink it!"

"I only like chocolate miiiilk!" Koba whined but picked up the glass, chugging down the whole thing in a few gulps. He looked even more worn out as Bellerose propped his mouth open, pushing the spoon inside and dumping the sugar into his mouth.

Koba whimpered, covering his mouth for a few moments as tears rolled down his cheek. Bellerose rolled her eyes, picking up the cup and spoon and heading back to the kitchen.

"Are you okay, Homie?" Iris asked, reaching over and patted his back.

"D-did you call me h-h-homie?" Koba barely got it out, his eyes watering more as he let out another weak cough.

"Yeah! I thought we agreed that was a word to describe how we're best friends!" Iris smiled, cupping her hands under her chin.

"You're tainting her." Kaito remarked as he shifted in his seat.

"He always ruins everyone around him." Luna remarked as she finished her food and stood up from the table.

"W-Wait Luna! I actually wanted to take this time so that you could get ta know me and we could become homies." Koba stood up from the table, his eyes still a bit watery from the spicy food.

"I'm not interested in hanging out with someone like you." Luna groaned. "Hanging out for a few hours isn't going to make us 'homies.' Most likely it'll just make me even more suspicious of you."

"I disagree. I believe it will be beneficial for you to get closer to Fumio." Bellerose stated as she continued to grab the plates off of the table.

"What? Don't tell me you actually like this fucker? You're the most logical person here and you trust him?" Luna almost sounded worried.

"I've spent time with him, got to know him as he got to know me. He went out of his way to make sure I was feeling okay… I know from the time I've spent with him I can trust him." Bellerose was flat as normal, her words felt direct and true. Yet there was a bit more of a warmth behind each syllable. It really gave the sensation that she knew what she believed in whatever she was saying.

"I think its a good idea too!" Sato barked as she shot up from her seat. "Koba is a cool dude! He's an idiot but the best idiot I've ever known."

"Koba is my homie!" Iris added, giggling as Koba started to hide his face from all the confessions of friendship.

"Even though Koba is an eyesore he's someone I trust dearly. It's weird, he's an idiot but you could learn a lot from him." Kaito remarked, moving to sip his own drink after he finished speaking.

"Uhg, Fine. Meet me at the beach room later tonight at 7 and we'll hang out." Luna was acting as if they were all twisting her arm.

"Got it! I'll meet you at 7!" Koba smiled as he hopped to his feet. "Until then what should we all do?"

"I'm going to my room until then." Luna stated before leaving the room.

"Bellerose and I are gonna go fuck with the stuff on the new floor!" Sato always seemed to be talking a bit too loud. "We didn't get to see any of the new shit yet!"

"Well that just leaves the four of us." Kaito remarked.

Himura sipped his drink before looking around the room."Well is there anything we can really do together?"

"We could go to the garden!" Iris suggested, hoping to her feet in excitement. She grabbed Koba's arm, dragging him out of his seat with a wild grin. "No one's helped me garden since Yunokawa died… so I'd love it if you would all spend time with me there!"

"That does sound like a good idea." Kaito pulled himself to his feet, dragging his fingers through his hair before revealing another rose that had been tucked away from everyone's view. "You help produce all of these magnificent roses for me so it's the least I can do."

"I-I'm fine with doing wh-whatever makes you happy Iris!" Koba seemed a bit startled as he seemed to ragdoll after Iris' tug.

"Gardening is a really good way to relax. It just takes your mind off of everything horrible that's happening around you. I really suggest you all try it." Iris smiles before her eyes locked onto Himura. "Does the Garden sound okay to you?"

"I'm just here for the ride." Himura confessed as the three of them headed out of the room together. "I just enjoy spending time with all of you guys."

Iris only seemed happier as she dragged Koba down the hall. Himura and Kaito followed close behind, Kaito's long, graceful steps trying to match Himura's as the barista dragged his feet.

When they got up to the garden, Iris let go of Koba's hands, causing him to stumble as she ran off into one of the nearby bustles of plants. Koba regained his footing quickly, stumbling before chasing after her into the greenhouse.

"Well I guess we are just here for a good time, right Himura?" Kaito remarked, smiling gently as he leaned over to peer down into the other man's face.

"I read your secret." Himura suddenly remembered his new segment of knowledge but was that even accurate? He didn't really learn anything about the actor from the little piece of paper. But either way he felt as if he should at least tell the red head.

Kaito stopped, his playful lean suddenly stopping as he stood at his full height. Himura felt a shiver run down his spine, a cold blast as he clenched at his own chest. Why did he feel such a sensation twist through his body all of a sudden. Yet looking up at the tall, slender figure of Kaito Himura felt as if he was almost _looming_ over him. At his full height Kaito seemed so much taller than Himura. It seemed as if a shadow fell over the Actor's eyes, blocking the beautiful blue discs from view.

"Oh? And what did it say, _my love?_ " Kaito's lips seemed to move in a way that shot another worrisome twist down Himura's spine. They seemed to move slower than what was natural. Winding over each other in a slow dance that Himura couldn't exactly comprehend.

"It said that you already admired me?" Himura felt the words tie into a knot in his throat. A knot so thick he could choke on it. What was this feeling? Why was he suddenly so… afraid?

"Oooooh Himura you don't have to lie to me." Kaito remarked, his perfectly straight teeth glistening in the artificial sunlight of the greenhouse. It was a beautiful grin yet something about it made Himura clench his hands together. "I gave it to you so you could trust me, remember? _Do you not trust me?_ "

"I do… That's really what it said," Himura finished, rubbing his hands together before taking a deep breath, "I think Monokuma was just saying it to mess with us because I don't really get it."

Kaito hesitated, the shadow that loomed over him remained before it burst into a glowing pink radiance. His smile was suddenly a lot softer, pleased with what he heard as he laid a hand on his cheek. "Aw, isn't that cute? Silly Monokuma is just teasing us at this point! He must be referring to the one time I visited your coffee shop back in the day."

"W-Wait what?" Himura felt even more confused. The foreboding sensation that surrounded the actor had vanished but it had left Himura in a daze. If a famous actor had come to his cafe he would have remembered it. Hell, the presence of a celebrity as loved as Ryuunosuke Kaito probably would have saved his business from being the absolute flop that it was. "There's no way you would have come to my cafe. I would have recognized someone like you."

Kaito paused, giggling as he covered his mouth. He pulled out a rose, twirling it in his fingers before suddenly tugging off all the beautiful, red petals, letting them all fall to the ground in a gentle flutter. He then held up the bare step of the flower, thin and lanky without the weighted top of the petals. "Just looking at the stalk of this flower, now that I've removed the petals, can you still tell it was a rose?"

"Not really? Well, other than the fact that I watched you remove the petals I guess I wouldn't know that was a rose. Though maybe the thorns would give it away." Himura pondered it over. He wasn't sure where Kaito was going with this.

"You could see this rose as me. Without all of the makeup, gorgeous hair and fabulous clothes I'm unremarkable. A forgettable piece of something iconic. You wouldn't have recognized me with all of the additives that make me the amazing actor Ryunosuke Kaito." Kaito remarked, finally dropping the stem of the rose onto it's petals, almost like a dead body finally hitting the ground.

Kaito suddenly smiled again, bending his knees slightly he seemed to shrink in size. His eyes glowed in the light like small spotlights, sparkling like diamonds as they focused their light down on Himura. He opened his mouth, his soft lips slowly curling over his teeth as he talked. "Now we better catch up to Iris and Koba before they get worried! The last thing we want to do is waste what valuable time we have left with our friends."

The actor gently took Himura's and slowly started to pull him in the direction that Iris and Koba had vanished behind one of the bushes. Himura's head was spinning from the emotional whiplash. His brain rattling in his head as if he'd been shot through a cannon. Kaito always seemed to whip through emotions faster than Himura could ever handle.

The two of them eventually found Iris and Koba knelt down next to a bed of flowers around the bend. When Kaito got close he bent down next to Iris, looking down at the flowers she'd raised so far.

Himura went next to Koba, deciding he didn't want to kneel and just opted to sit in the dirt next to the wannabe skater. He didn't really care if he got dirt all over his pants at this point. If Himura was worried about anything it was the idea that he might crush something underneath him as he took this spot on the ground.

"What took you two so long?" Iris asked as she looked over at Kaito.

"Poor Himura tripped on the way in," Kaito lied, a smile curling over his lips and hiding this false information beneath a kind smile. Himura didn't understand why the actor chose to lie about what just happened. All he had to say was that they stopped and talked before meeting with their friends. Himura guessed it didn't matter in the long run. "Luckily I caught him before he did any damage."

"Maybe ya wouldn't trip if ya stopped draggin your feet all the time, homie!" Koba suggested through his gleaming grin.

"I don't think that's why I tripped." Himura mumbled, slightly annoyed that the guy who never ties his shoes is trying to tell him how to prevent falling.

"So what are these?" Kaito asked, leaning over the flowers with a studious gaze.

"They're Lilies of the Valley." Iris explained, looking down at them as she went to explain more about them. Himura chuckled at the fact that these flowers looked almost like small, white little bells dangling off of a stalk. He half expected them to chime peacefully if he were to shake them gently. "They're meant to represent a pure heart."

Iris chuckles and leans forward. "They're always so beautiful and they smell so nice! I was surprised they had so few flowers when I first got to this place but they had my brand of seeds stored inside the shed over there along with all of my personal tools."

"You have your own brand of seeds?" Koba questioned.

"Yeah, I genetically modified the plants to grow faster. It helps flowers live a longer life in the summer and allows bees a longer period to distribute pollen. These factors allow flowers to spread at faster rates and help clean up some of the air. It really helped repair the world after the Tragedy." Iris started to play with the dirt around the plants, smiling as she made a small pile next to them.

"Woah, that's pretty amazing." Himura admitted. He felt a little guilty at due to the fact that he often forgot Iris was a scientist. The way she talks about flowers usually makes him think she's only a gardener. "You've all done something amazing with your talents."

"You haven't invented like your own kind of coffee?" Iris asked, cupping her hands in her lap as her eyes locked back onto Himura.

"No… I've put my own special touch in every cup of coffee I've ever made but I've never created something entirely new. Sure I've developed new flavors but nothing too complicated. Not like the rest of you who've completely rewritten the basics in your fields." Himura sighed, thinking back to how his life had always been one failure after another.

"You know we never got to know much about you," Kaito remarked, running his lean fingers through his hair as he spoke. "You seemed to have learned a lot about us over the past few weeks yet we have yet to learn anything about you."

"Yeah! Like how did you get recruited? You had to have done _something_ amazing in order to get even noticed by Hope's Peak Academy, right?" Iris continued the conversation, her bright blue eyes bubbling with curiosity.

"Actually I just got lucky…" Himura rubbed the back of his neck, a bit embarrassed by the truth of the situation. "Komaeda and Asahina where visiting another potential student when they happened to wander into my cafe for something to drink."

"What? That's some wild luck!" Koba seemed to bounce a bit as he spoke. "I can't believe they just happened to wander into your cafe."

"Who were they visiting before you?" Kaito asked

'No idea." Himura tried to remember but he was coming up blank. "Actually now that I think about it they were looking for someone who was rumored to be in town. I think they actually gave up on trying to find them when they walked into my cafe."

"How was your cafe not famous?" Iris went back to playing with the dirt again as the conversation went on. "If you were so good that Mr. Komaeda could just walk in and know you were special then how come other people didn't do the same?"

"I was a 13 year old trying to run a business all by myself." Himura had thought about this a lot. When he first opened the small shop. "Bad placement, horrible advertising, there was a lot of reasons the place wasn't popular."

"Wait, how could you run a business on your own? You didn't have any help? No mentors or guardians who helped you along the way?" Iris seemed startled at the idea of a child running a business on their own. Isn't that what most of the people in this school did. Most of them didn't have living parents to watch over them. But then again, a lot of them probably had mentors who taught them how to excel in their talents.

"I've always had to do everything on my own." Himura suddenly felt hallow. Like thinking back on it scooped all of his guts out with a shovel and dumped them on the ground next to him.

"You told me you were adopted after the tragedy." Kaito spoke up next.

"I was. Then they said I was too emotionally stunted to keep. So they passed me on to the next family. That family decided I didn't love them enough fast enough so they ditched me onto the next family." Himura let out a cold chuckle though it felt more like he was releasing a short bought of breath from his lungs. "Eventually I stopped trying and ran off to open a store to work on the only thing that had ever brought warmth into my life."

"That's garbage!" Koba was suddenly enraged, clenching his fists as he looked over to Himura. "How dare they treat you like some kind of pet! That's not even fair!"

"I don't know… I can't blame them for wanting a kid who could love them." Himura mumbled.

"That sounds like bullshit they fed to you to make you feel bad." Kaito spoke up again, a cold, angry look grew on his face. It was just like a few moments ago. A cold, seriousness seemed to spread over his usually bubbly persona. "You were capable of loving them but they wanted immediate satisfaction. They didn't want a kid they wanted a pet who would love them unconditionally for providing basic necessities just to live. They were disgusting monsters to treat a child like that. If they wanted something that would love them for feeding it they should have gotten a fucking dog."

A moment of silence fell over the group. Himura suspected that no one knew how to follow up that rant. The last thing he wanted was to talk about himself any more than he had to. Yet Kaito's words really seemed to rustle around inside Himura's brain. He'd always been blamed for the things those people had done to him. It felt weird having it be flipped the other way around.

"So Iris, what should we help you do while we're here?" Koba asked, standing to his feet as he brushed the dirt off of his pale legs and shorts.

"Oh! I wanted everyone to pick their favorite flower and plant it somewhere in the greenhouse!" Iris jumped to her feet before racing over to a bucket near the bed of flowers. "I have tons of seeds in here so the plant of your choosing should be inside."

Himura watched as she poured the bags of seeds on the ground for them to dig through. Himura didn't really know a lot about plants or flowers. He imagined Iris knew the symbolism for each one off the top of her head. He suddenly felt nervous, what if he picked one that meant something horrible? Would that freak Iris out? He swallowed hard, pausing as his eyes latched onto package with a coffee colored flower printed onto the front. He picked it up, observing the image with a soft sigh. He really hoped this was good enough.

"Kaito! Why don't you pick something that isn't a rose!" Iris giggled, taking the several rose packets out of the pile and tossing them into the bucket. "There's already so many roses in the garden."

"Aw, but roses are my favorite flower ever." Kaito pouted, though he made no attempts at stopping Iris from making him pick a new flower.

"Oh, Himura, did you pick one?" Iris suddenly noticed Himura holding the packet in his hand. She outstretched one of her hands towards him, her fingers cupping together as she waited for him to pass it over. "Can I see what you picked?"

"I'm not too sure. I don't really know a lot about flowers. This is really hard to pick just one." Himura mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. Even though Himura showed obvious indecisiveness, Iris seemed to refuse to put her hand down, waiting with great fervor as Himura finally decided to hand the packet of flowers over to her. "Fine, here you go."

Iris seemed pleased as he finally handed the packet over to her. The barista could almost read her smile as smug as she peered over it's contents, observing what he did before giving a gently nod, her hat bouncing a bit with her head movement.

"Dahlia's are a really could choice for you. I don't get to work with the chocolate ones very often but the meaning behind them fits you very well!" Iris smiled as she handed them back to Himura. "They help symbolize the ability to stay strong in stressful situations. They can even represent the ability to stay kind during very trying events. I think this flower really suites you."

"Well I didn't know it meant all that," Himura confessed, feeling a bit flattered at what Iris was telling him. How could she always be so nice? "I just picked the flower I liked to look at the most."

"Maybe," Iris started, cupping her hands next to her face, "but there's always a chance that there's more than one reason to be drawn to a certain kind of flower. I always here florists say that people are often drawn to flowers for reasons they don't even understand."

"I guess that's possible…" Himura wasn't too sure about it but it was something cute to imagine. The idea that the meanings of flowers shown through even if you didn't know the meaning could carry heavy implications. But it wasn't like flowers had any negative meanings. Why would they ever make flowers with negative meanings.

"Iris! Iris! I picked a flower." Koba shouted as he leaned forward, his hand tight clenched around the bag of seeds as he jostled it up and down through the air.

Iris paused, quickly taking the bag from his hand. "You're going to break the bag if you handle it like that."

"I'm sorry…" Koba mumbled as he nervously watched Iris look over the now crinkled packet.

"Aw, I should have known you'd pick such a… chartreuse flower." Iris chuckled before gently handing it back to Koba. "But gladioli are very pretty flowers. They are usually used to display a sense of strength and moral integrity. They can also be symbols of passion if given in bouquets."

"P-Passion?" Koba's face turned red as he glanced from the packet of seeds to Iris, then back at the item in his shaky hands. "I-I-I don't know if that last part is right at all I-I-"

Iris suddenly leaned over and snatched one out of Kaito's hands, scooping the packet of seeds up in her hands and look over the information labeled on the paper surrounding them.

Kaito looked startled, caught off guard as the seeds were swiped from his hands. He bounced back quickly, however, smiling as he placed his hands gently over his chest. "I thought these flowers were gorgeous! They carry so much beauty with them and the color is just striking! They're definitely a flower of passion, I can tell."

Iris paused, her smile flickering for a second before she just passed them back to Kaito. Her smile felt a bit more stiff this time. "They sure are pretty, Kaito."

"What's that look for Iris?" Kaito remarked, waving the packed in the air. "Do you not like the color orange?"

"No, orange is nice… it's just… It's not a big deal. Everyone should split up and decide where they want to plant their flowers.

"Iris, are you hiding something again?" Himura questioned as he found her new behavior a bit intimidating. "We talked about this, you need to start telling us stuff that bothers you."

"Well, it was obviously just a strike of bad luck." Iris made it seem as if Himura was twisting her arm for answers. "I feel bad about going on about unconscious choices and then you pick a flower like this. It's obviously wrong…"

"Iris darling I can take it," Kaito chuckled before flicking some off his hair off of his shoulder, "it's a flower you give to your date when you think they're ugly, isn't it? I know I'm gorgeous so I don't need validation from a plant."

"Well, Butterfly Weeds, as these are called, literally mean _let me go_." Iris final said what was bothering her, rubbing her arm nervously.

"Really?" Himura felt himself a little surprised that a flower could have such a negative connotation. The barista would never have guessed they would have labeled a flower specifically for breaking up like that.

"Aw, that's so unfortunate," Kaito sighed, looking over the flowers with an almost melancholy look on his face, "I really thought these would be a beautiful flower to leave on Himura's doorstep."

"Aw, don't worry too much, they're real nice!" Koba smiled, standing up as he seemed to beam his usual positive attitude. "I dunno how you can remember all these meanins offa the top of your head, Iris. It's really impressive."

"Aw, that's really nice of you Koba. I feel like my head is just filled with useless plant facts." Iris smiled and stood to her feet. "We should get planting, it's gonna take us most of Koba's time before he has to go meet with Luna."

"I'm really nervous that Luna and I will never get along." Koba confessed, rubbing his hands together nervously as he started to wonder to one of the corners of the garden.

"I'm sure it'll all work out." Iris sounded as if she was trying to comfort him as the group spread out.

The four of them spread out over the expanse of the garden. There seemed to be a lot of places hidden the walls of the greenhouse. Bushes seemed to block a lot of the camera from views in the darker corners of the garden. Himura found a nice, open spot in the garden where he decided to dig a hole. He paused, suddenly not sure exactly what he was supposed to do to properly plant these flowers. He had totally forgot Iris how this all works.

Himura tore off the top of the package, dumping the insides into the ground before standing up and using his foot to kick the dirt over the hole. After finishing his planting session, Himura silently hoped he hadn't just fucked up these flowers Iris had entrusted in him. Actually he'd feel pretty guilty if they happened to die.

Himura was suddenly put off the idea as he heard soft footsteps behind him. He felt the hair raise up on the back of his neck. Was that the ghost that he was hearing? He remembered the hooded figure that both Koba and Iris had claimed to witness. Was she… behind him? He'd seen the other three wonder off into separate corners of the room.

Slowly he turned around, just in time to catch the curl of red hair as Kaito slowly stood up from the ground. Himura slowly realized the actor must have completely looped around the green house. The actor was searching through an area that was filled with pink and red flowers, through a pink arch of roses into an open circle surrounded by brightly colored foliage. Kaito had his back to Himura, looking over one of the flowers, completely oblivious to the actor at this very moment. Right now it seemed as if Himura could easily sneak up on him.

Before Himura could really think it over, he was already on his way over to the actor. Himura wasn't too sure what he was doing. Going out of his way to sneak up on someone was strange to him, it was so much more _playful_ than he was used to. He wanted to play one of those couple games he'd seen so many people attempt on the internet. A part of him just wanted to get closer to Kaito.

The closer Himura got, the more worried he'd step on a branch and alert the actor of his position. He was so close to getting the upper hand on the other man. He actually felt his heartbeat pick up a little, which usually only happened when he'd only drank too much coffee. He reached out. His fingers moving to wrap around the other man's wrist. Maybe intertwine their fingers together like wild ivy. His skin was just about to make contact when Kaito slowly started to turn around, looking more startled than Himura had ever suspected as the Actor turned his body around faster than Himura could ever be prepared for.

Himura made the mistake before he could really understand what he'd done wrong. He should have known it was a bad idea to grab onto the other man's wrist anyways. But he was suddenly just as startled as Kaito.

Kaito was falling backwards into the dirt below them before Himura could really comprehend the incident he had instigated. The momentum of Kaito's body twisting sent Himura cascading down into the dirt with him, both of them crashing onto the ground with a hard _**thump**_. The two of them landed on the ground as if they'd tumbled out of the pages of a romance manga. Himura found himself on top, his body in between Kaito's long, thin legs as the two of them stared at each other.

The barista had ended up on top in this specific situation as he found himself nervously peering down at Kaito. The Actor was still wide eyed, staring up at Himura with a level of shock Himura never expected the usual composed man to carry. Their faces were close, the tips of their noses almost brushing as Himura seemed to slide into this awkward position. Shifting in a way that caused Himura to brush his body against Kaito's more.

"This wasn't what I expected to happen at all." Himura chuckled, glancing around nervously before finally making eye contact with Kaito again. "I'm so-"

What Himura saw below him caused him to stop in the center of his words as they got tangled up inside of his throat. Kaito's cheeks almost matched his hair as one of his hands covered his mouth. His eyes seemed wild, shaking as if they didn't know what to do. Himura had no idea what was wrong before he went to shift around again. The movement caused the actor to freak out more, closing his eyes as he squirming underneath Himura.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt? I didn't think I would scare you this bad, honestly." Himura chuckled nervously, unsure of what was bothering the actor.

"O-Oh God, don't laugh," Kaito mumbled through his fingers, "your whole body vibrates when you laugh."

"Wait? Why wou-" It suddenly dawned on Himura what was happening. What he'd done at this very moment made the blood rush to his face. However what he got from this situation is that the blood wasn't just rushing to Kaito's face.

Himura went to stand up, repositioning himself so he could push himself off the ground. But he only made the situation worse as Kaito's legs brushed up against Himura's sides as they jerked from another bad connection.

"There you two are, Iris want's to know if ya'll done plantin?" Koba was suddenly there. Where the hell had he even come from. "What are you two doing? Did ya fall?"

"Yeah it was an accident, I-" Himura didn't move on purpose. The only reason he knew he'd messed it up again is Kaito jerked again, suddenly hopping to his feet, dragging Himura up and pushing him off of him.

The actor looked like he'd just run a mile. Sweat rolling down his face as he was practically drooling. Himura half expect some snarky remark from the Actor, a comment on how he was used to these kinds of things. Instead, the Actor shook his head.

"I really need to - uh- Shit. I really need to go to my room. I'll see you later Himura, d-darlin."

With that, the actor left the area. Himura sighed, unsure of what to do next. The events that just occurred seemed to soak in his memories like a warm bath. His head fuzzy from his very strange romantic encounter.

"Kaito must have bumped his head, right?" Koba sounded more like he was asking than telling Himura a statement. "But he sure left in quite a rush even though he wasn't even bleeding."

Himura rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of how to even talk to the lanky boy about what had just happened. Honestly he was kinda hoping he could just put the awkward exchange behind him and never talk about it again.

"So are you ready to go meet Luna?" Himura asked, looking over at Koba and hoping the sk8r's short attention span would help him for once. "We should really get ready to meet up with her."

"Oh yeah, I'm ready." Koba nodded, smiling as he started to stretch. "I really hope I don't mess this up."

Himura chuckled, giving him a small pat on the back in order to pass on at least a bit of reassurance. "You'll be fine. Luna is a lot nicer than she seems. She's just scared that she can't protect any of us in this shitty killing game."

"You're probably right…" Koba sighed, scratching the tip of his nose as he pouted a bit.

"I never know Kaito was so serious about his Image." Iris said as she suddenly appeared, walking up next to the two before glancing around.

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Himura asked the gardener.

"He just ran out of here covering his pants with his hands just because he must have gotten dirt on them." Iris stated as she glanced around the garden before making direct eye contact with Himura. "One day I hope to be as passionate as Kaito is!"

"I've always heard of eccentric actors but I've never met one like Kaito before!" Koba added, swinging his skateboard in his hands as he continued on, clenching his fist as a single tear rolls down his cheek. "Seeing his passion makes me want to head off to the skate park!"

This was not something Himura wanted to discuss anymore. He turned away, breaking eye contact with the gardener as he felt sweat roll down his forehead. If he listened to these two talk about this anymore he was going to lose it. Everything that was happening right now was more that he could handle.

"What's with this place? Why is it so weird compared to the rest of the garden?" Koba pondered over the new area as he put the bend of his finger against his bottom lip.

"I was wondering the same thing." Himura responded.

"Oh its-" Iris was about to explain but that shrieking, horrible noise suddenly cut her off.

"Looks like you finally found it!" Monokuma suddenly barked from behind the group, causing everyone to turn on their toes and face him with a worried look.

"Found what?" Himura asked, rubbing his neck before nervously glancing around.

"The _**Love Garden!**_ " Monokuma pressed his paws together as his cheeks glowed a strawberry red. "A special place I made where romance can blossom! I even planted special flowers that with a libidinous sensation."

"Why would you make a place like that in a murder focused school?" Himura was a bit puzzled by the bear's intentions but he was also a little bit afraid to find out the answer. Afraid that it was because the mastermind was an absolute pervert.

"Because romance blossoms when death is drawing upon you! People desire love in their final moments. A space dedicated to that specific romance was needed in order to provide you with a thrilling school life. Not to mention that it's entertaining to watch all of this _**romance**_ unfold before my bear-y eyes!" Monokuma spouted it out in heavy breaths and Himura was afraid he was getting off just thinking about it. "In short when people are afraid they're gonna die it makes their hearts really fuckin' horny!"

"Wh-What? Why would anyone ever do that!" Koba looked confused, covering his mouth as his face turned completely red. "Who would someone wanna have s-s-s-s…. In a place like this!"

Koba couldn't even say the word. Himura had expected him to be shy around the subject but not that oblivious to it. It almost made Himura want to laugh. He turned back to Monokuma, a bit smug with his next statement. "Well it must suck for you that no one's ever used it."

Iris didn't even speak but her face said it all. Her eyes darting to the side as she suddenly bit down on the bottom of her lip. Her hands suddenly seemed to nervously touch in front of her torso.

"Just because this is your first time finding this place doesn't mean no one else has ever seen it, Kazuki Himura!" Monokuma burst into laughter, clutching his gut as he bounced in his spot. "Let's just say you two are almost the last people to discover this place!"

"Y-you gotta be kidding me?" Himura was thrown back a bit by the idea of everyone knowing of this place before him. "Who else doesn't know?"

"Oh, Just Makoto." Monokuma chuckled. "Well, either way, I hope you enjoy your newly found area! Have a good night, boys!"

"Wait! The teachers haven't been in here right? Right?" Koba shouted, his hands cupping the side of his head as he looked startled. "Don't leave! I need to know!"

"Iris, I have an important question for you." Himura spoke once the bear had left the three of them alone.

"I haven't use it!" Iris blurted, throwing her hands to her side as she shouted before suddenly pulling them back to her chest, fidgeting with the rim of her hand nervously. "Unfortunately…"

"Then how did you know about it?" Himura questioned her, more curious than anything.

"Well, I don't like talking about other people's intimate moments but…" iris glanced around, biting her lip for a moment before continuing, "but I'm in here a lot and it's just stuff that happens naturally. I don't really mind it all, honestly. I've actually sent a few of them care packages to make sure they stay healthy!"

"I really think it's time I bounce." Koba was still shouting at this point before turning and running out of the garden. It all must have been too much for him.

Still a bit confused from how this free time event ended, Himura said his farewells to Iris before sending his regrets that people were using her personal space for their intimate moments.

After this, Himura needed a whole pot of coffee to regain his energy.

* * *

Koba was waiting outside of the beach room as quietly adjusted his jacket. He really hoped Luna didn't want him to wear his bathing suit. The thing was still crunched up and dirty on the floor of his room… actually now that he thought about it, he thinks Monokuma cleaned it off the ground awhile ago. At this point he had no idea where it was.

Koba pulled out his student handbook, glancing over the time to make sure he had the right time. He stared at the blinking clock up in the corner of the display as the time read 7:15. The fact that she hadn't shown up yet made him worry that something happened to her.

"Oh you actually showed up…" Luna suddenly turned the corner, looking disappointed that Koba was already standing there. She was dressed in a bathing suit, a frilly skirt and a matching cute top.

"Are we gonna go swimming?" Koba asked, a bit worried he was already messing this all up. "I didn't bring my bathing suit!"

"Huh? Oh, don't worry about that. If it comes down to it we can always go skinny dipping." Luna winked, her long, dark lashes scooping over her creamy brown eyes before she giggled.

"I-I don't wanna do that!" Koba covered his mouth, his pale skin lighting up faster than a car's headlights. Skinny dippin was when people got naked and went swimming, right? Koba really didn't want to do that. "I can grab my bathing suit right now! It'll only take a second."

"Kobayashi, it's fine. I just plan on lounging next to the water. I'm not gonna make you swim." Luna waved her hand, chuckling as she went to walk into the beach. "For a traitor you're the most innocent person here."

"I told you to call me Koba! Please, I don't really like Kobayashi." Koba clenched his fists, unsure of why she always insisted on calling him by his full last name.

"You're more upset about the last name than the traitor thing? Weird." Luna looked as if she was taking a mental note of what he was saying. Koba was pretty sure she was just making fun of him, though.

"So, we might as well head inside, right?" Luna asked, heading towards the door of the beach with a soft smile. "We're wasting daylight at this point."

Koba nodded, already feeling discombobulated by this entire encounter. He knew she wouldn't be nice to him about this whole thing. He was lucky she was even talking to him. Koba just didn't want her to be suspicious of him anymore. It… He didn't like the feeling when she pointed her finger at him.

Luna paused, opening the door to the beach. She took a big step inside before pausing. Her eyes dilated as her expression made it look as if the breath had been swept away from her lips. "Wh-What the hell?"

Koba panicked. At first he thought she might have found a body. The idea was what caused him to run to the door frame to peer inside, looking over the girl's shoulder to see something that stole his breath as well. The panic vanished as it was washed away by an overwhelming sense of confusion.

"Where did the beach go?" Luna asked, taking a step back to look around, making sure she had picked the right room. But as she turned back to the small, empty grey room in front of her she was only forced to observe the fact that it was just a small, empty room. The walls were a weird, light blue that pulsated in the low light..

"How could Monokuma have cleaned up all of that sand?" Koba asked, scratching the back of his head as he pondered over the scene unfolding in front of his eyes.

"Puhuhu!" The voice sent a shiver rolling down Koba's spine, making the hair on the back of his neck raise up as they both slowly turned to look at Monokuma behind them. "I was wondering when you'd waddle your sorry asses back back here!"

"What did you do with the beach? The room was at least three times bigger than this last we saw it!" Iris barked, waving her fist at the bear.

"Isn't it obvious?" Monokuma suddenly seemed to freeze, his red eye glowing even brighter than before. "It's because this entire school is just a computer program!"

"Are you serious?" Koba asked, his throat suddenly dry at the idea that this was all fake. It gave them a small smidgen of hope that everyone could be alive! Wasn't that what happened with Komaeda's class? They all lived because it was a computer program. Maybe this was the same thing! Maybe everyone was okay! Yunokawa, Eguchi, Sweeney! They were all okay! They could see them aga-

"PAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Did you see the pathetic look on your face! You all believe everything I tell you! You're all so stupid." Monokuma started to cry he was laughing so hard.

The skater's body trembled in response. He was just fucking with them! He just liked crushing their hope every time it sprung forward. If he wasn't so stupid he wouldn't have fell for it!

"It's actually a memory chamber!" Monokuma explained, patting the rim of the door as he chuckled. "It was created by the _**Ultimate Virtual Reality Creator!**_ It creates realistic rooms that the viewer gets lost in. It has a lot of uses, actually."

"The Ultimate Virtual Reality Programmer?" Luna seemed skeptical as she crossed her arms. "I've never heard of someone with that title before."

"Puhuhuhuhuhu! Let's just say that isn't their _**official**_ title yet." Monokuma smugly added.

"How could someone have an unofficial title?" Luna was pushing him for answers. It was smart if you knew the right buttons to push. Monokuma seemed to love talking.

"Let's just say that some of you ugly freaks were born into privilege, 'kay?" Monokuma clenched his paw, waving it angrily as he continued to speak.

"So how does this room work?" Koba blurted out the question before he could really comprehend what he was asking.

"Good question, skater boi! It has a control panel inside with a headset attached. Just place the machine over your eyes and relax. Whatever memory you think of will be loaded into the area!" Monokuma explained, pushing his way into the room to show him the headset that was attached to a small computer.

"Where was the beach from?" Luna spoke next as her eyes scanned over the machine.

"Oh that? It was a pre rendered area based off of the Neo World Project." Monokuma bounced back towards the door, turning towards them before waving. "Well, that's all I had to say, have fun in here."

They both watched as Monokuma bounced out of the room, waddling out and leaving the two of them behind. Koba wasn't sure what to make of this room. He didn't want to believe Monokuma but it all seemed to make sense now. He remembered the day they spent at the beach and how Sweeney had filled his socks with sand. The second he had left the room _**all of the sand was gone.**_ Not a single grain of sand was left inside of his sock. If it had been a normal beach he would have had to throw those socks away.

Koba paused when the walls suddenly twisted, bursting as they slowly turned into a beautiful sky around him. Squares and pixels of light bursting around him like some kind of freaky anime, stretching out an even larger sky view in front of them. Koba noticed his feet in the air for a moment, nothing below him but more sky. The image made his stomach drop as he feared he was about to plummet to his death. He felt his eyes instinctively clench shut, his knees shaking as his gut flipped with the sensation of plummeting.

"Holy shit, Sorry Koba. I didn't know it was gonna do _all that_ " Luna's voice caused his eyes to peak open, glad to see the ground beneath his feet had appeared, taking the shape of a school's roof.

"Where are we?" Koba asked, watching as Luna walked over to the edge of the building.

He noticed her clothes had changed too. Suddenly she was wearing a school uniform with a large, yellow, sweater tugged over the top of it. He watched as she kicked off her shoes and climbed up slowly on the handrail. He suddenly felt his heart race. What was she doing? It looked like she was going to-

"Hey!" Koba's body lurched forward, his thin legs propelling him forward as his fingers suddenly wrapped around her wrist. "You shouldn't do that! Even if this room is just a hologram."

Luna paused, watching his reaction with a confused gaze before laughing. It was a different laugh than he usually heard from the girl, deeper and throatier, the opposite of her usually airy laugh. This one felt… bittersweet. Before Koba could react she snatched Koba by his wrist, tugging him, up onto the railing as she made sure they both were sitting up against it.

"You know it was silly of me to think you were a killer." Luna sighed, her eyes looking out over the endless sky.

"I don't blame you for being suspicious of me." Koba responded, watching as the girl's eyes slowly reflected the colors of the sky. "Sometimes I'm suspicious of myself…"

"How can you be suspicious of yourself?" Luna asked. "If you did something bad you'd know it, right?"

"I-I don't know. I-I've been having so many nightmares… everyone always talks about getting their memories back after a trial but… _**I haven't gotten back a single memory.**_ After each trial I've just had nightmares. And ever since the third trial Eun Rhee has been in everyone one of my dreams. It's like she's trying to tell me something but I can't remember and No matter how hard I try I can't understand what she's telling me! " Koba clenched his fist, his eyes focusing on his tight fingers as the backdrop of the cement below seemed to become a smudged background behind it. He didn't even realize he was crying until one of the globs of water broke apart as it smashed into his fist. "The worst part is that at the end of the dream she just dies! I-I haven't been sleeping because I'm so afraid of seeing her dead body again. I don't even know who she is but every time I see her I just...I-!"

"Why are you telling me this?" Luna's voice was stiff and Koba couldn't tell if it was because she annoyed or just overwhelmed by what he was telling her this. "Does anyone else know?"

"I-I haven't told anyone else…" Koba sniffled, moving to brush the tears away from his eyes as he felt his body tremble with another wave of tears. Once the first broke free, however, it was hard to hold them all back. "I-I just thought that sharing a secret like that with you would help you trust me."

"Well watching you cry like this makes me doubt you could ever hurt a fly." Luna sounded like she was trying to joke with him. Somehow it made him give a weak chuckle. Her playful disposition seemed to help relax him, forcing the images of the girl's dead body to the back of his mind.

"You know, Eun Rhee was one of my only friends." Luna seemed to gloss over Koba's words, moving on to something else. Koba's eyes latched onto her face as it seemed to melt into something more melancholy. "Eun Rhee, Yiejiro Hotta, and Yoko Takahashi were the best friends I could have ever asked for."

"Himura told me about your team." Koba confessed, tucking his hands in his lap as he prepared himself to listen to her. "Were they apart of the Battle Against Despair Girls too?"

"Yes. We were the only members. And when you really boil it down we didn't get a lot done. Hotta was in charge of all the important stuff. She was so good at what she did. She could see the despair in people's eyes before they even lashed out. I wish she was still here… we wouldn't be stuck in this school anymore if she had lived." Luna paused, the reflection in her eyes becoming glossy as she stared out towards the sky. "Eun Rhee was good at taking them down. She was fast, smart, and cold. She was pretty much your every day 'femme fatale' but really cute. Takahashi was our newest member. She was so good at keeping things positive, even if she was prone to panicking. The four of together we took down a lot of despair."

"You guys killed people right?" Koba questioned, thinking back to the trial with Himura's old case. "You killed that guy who was with Himura. Well, Eun Rhee killed him."

"We only killed people who couldn't be helped." Luna didn't sound angry. She just sounded like someone who was going over the facts with a child. "Koba, _**Do people always deserve to be forgiven?"**_

Koba felt his heart his gut clench up as if Luna had squeezed it in her hand. He flashed back to his nightmare, revisiting the classroom from his dreams as Eun Rhee asked him the same question. "She asked me the same thing in one of my dreams."

"Well that sucks." Luna sighed as she tugged her braid of hair over her shoulder.

"How does that suck?" Koba wondered out loud.

"She used to ask us that all the time when we felt guilty for what we did. It was a common thing that she would tell us." Luna placed a hand on her cheek, a sad look crossing her eyes. "If you've been getting dreams about her and she says stuff like that… that probably means she really is dead... Dammit, I was really hoping Hotta was the only one who perished in this hell. It was stupid for me to think they'd all still be alive."

Koba wanted to reassure her. Maybe Rhee was still alive. They didn't have any proof that she was dead. Yet something inside of him held those words back. Kept them tucked inside the back of his throat as if they were stuck in some kind of trap. No matter how much he wanted to say the girl was alive… some part of him refused to say those words. Did that mean…?

"So why did you pick this roof for us to sit on?" Koba asked, glancing down at the ground for a moment before quickly looking back up towards the sky.

"This was where I first met Hotta. Back in grade school…" Luna sighed. "I moved to Japan shortly after the tragedy, actually. I happened to be transferred into their school."

"Oh, if you were transferred into the school then how did you meet on the roof? Wouldn't you just meet in class?" Koba asked.

"Normally… But I guess we had a very special case." Luna started, standing back up on the top of the railing. She balanced herself on the top of the bar. "Shortly after we moved here my mom was murdered by some freak left over from the tragedy. I was lost after that and I didn't know what to do… I had come to the roof to try and leave all of that behind…"

"You met under those circumstances? What even happened?" Koba felt alert, watching her with careful eyes.

"Nothing too serious, Hotta just talked me off the railing. Actually that's a lie, I still jumped. She grabbed my arm and pulled me back onto the roof." Luna chuckled, rubbing one of her shoulders. "I dislocated my arm when she grabbed me but It could have been a lot worse. Honestly it was probably her luck that saved my life."

"This sounds really personal, why are you telling me this?" Koba asked. "Not that I'm mad or anything! Just surprised. You didn't even trust me a few minutes ago."

"Well you opened up to me so I thought it was only fair." Luna hopped off the handle, stepping back and away from the edge of the roof. "Don't get me wrong I still think it's possible you're a traitor. I just don't think you're helping Monokuma on purpose anymore."

Koba stood up, attempting to follow her over the handrail. Lifting his leg over the side as he tried hard to hop over. Finally getting the momentum to haul himself over the top, Koba went up a little bit faster than he expected, causing him to just fall back onto the other side. Luna covered her mouth as held back another laugh.

"Koba I have one last thing I want to say before we part ways for the night." Luna spoke softly as Koba pulled himself back to his feet.

"Yeah, uh, what do ya wanna say, Luna?"

"Whatever Eun Rhee is saying to you, whatever she's telling you to do… I hope you can follow it through! There's a chance it could be her final words." Luna clenched her fist as she made direct eye contact with Koba. "If she entrusted you with her final wishes than I hope you can discover what it means!"

There was a moment of silence. Koba flashed back to his dreams of her. The visions of her stoic face in his classes. How she spoke to him in the silence of the room How her eyes seemed to target him. Then finally he was brought back to the latest dream. The words that had made zero sense to him. That was the only action he could decipher. Maybe this was a sign!

"Thanks Luna." Koba smiled as the two of them left the room, the hologram shutting down behind them as they exited the room. "I think I know what I gotta do now."

"Well… Good luck Koba. I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" Luna smiled, punching one of Koba's shoulders hard before heading off down the stairs. "Don't make me regret trusting you!"

Koba waved goodnight to his friend. His mind was focused on one thing now. He held his skateboard to his chest, glancing over the bright stickers as he headed up the stairs. The name carved into the bottom seemed to make more sense to him now. The ER carved into the bottom… That stood for Eun Rhee. This board belonged to the _**Ultimate skater**_. He slowly carried it up the stairs, keeping it tucked under his arms as he slowly made his way up the stairs.

His mind felt blank as he walked to the fifth floor. This had been the clearest instructions yet. How could someone like him overlook such a direct request. Maybe she was watching over his shoulder because it felt like it was pushing down on him as he slowly walked into the skate park. The designs on the ground seemed to call out to him. This was what he was supposed to do!

 _ **Eun Rhee wanted to see him skate one last time!**_

Koba felt the anticipation grow in his chest. The bright light from before made him feel warm and bubbly inside as he dropped his board onto the edge of the rink. He placed his foot on the edge, jus' like how all the pros on the internet do.

"This is for you, Eun Rhee!" Koba called out, giving a bittersweet smile before he hopped onto the board and soared down the rink and-

THUMP!

Darnit! Koba really wished he could do one trick without landing on his head. The force had knocked his hat off his head, sending it across the skate rink as a trail of blood followed him to the other side of the rink. He hadn't even gotten down the first wall before he'd fallen, hitting the ground and sliding across the bottom of the rink and towards the other wall. With disdain, Koba held his bleeding nose, watching as the drops of blood dripped down onto the shirt underneath his jacket. His board went on without him, making it's way across the rink before soaring over the other edge.

As Koba clenched his bleeding face he watched as a panel opened up in the ground. Slowly a screen rose from the ground. A thin monitor that was dark until fully risen from it's hidden segment in the ground.

Koba felt his jaw drop as the screen lit up. There she was… Eun Rhee…

" _Koba… If you're finally watching this… that means I'm dead."_ Her eyes focused on him, as cold and collected as they always were. But even he could see the fear underneath the icy pools of honey.

He watched the video in silence. The words she spoke, the things she told him… They made his mind tick. Slowly he started to remember a lot of things. His heart raced. His breath broken as he slowly let go of his bleeding face. Head dizzy from blood loss and the new info being pressed into it. Slowly he felt like he was going to pop. Then, at the very the flash of pink seared into his brain like a hot knife, tearing into the tissue.

He was so distracted by what he was watching he didn't hear the footsteps behind him. He didn't have the chance to catch up to what was really going on. He was to distracted as his mind began to spin. How could he ever forget! What kind of idiot forgets their best friend! WHAT KIND OF MONSTER WOULD-"

"Oh geeze, looks like you finally found it!" Monokuma's voice sounded behind him. Koba didn't even bother to look as a tall figure seemed to walk with the stuffed bear. "I wasn't sure what I should do with this little message when I found it. I considered deleting it but what kind of monster rids a girl of her final words? I decided just to edit it a bit, only to help you understand what's going on."

Koba couldn't answer. His lungs felt as if they were filled with sand. Head light as he ran his fingers through his hair. His heart was so close to popping. He didn't know what to do. What was he supposed to do after this? What was he supposed to do… for her? He felt his head spin as he gripped it between his hands. Tears mixing with the warm blood as it dripped off his face like some kind of sorrowful elixir. Koba couldn't explain the sudden feeling that washed over him, filling every part of his body as the bear spoke to him one more time.

"Puhuhu! Don't be scared, Fumio Kobayashi!" Monokuma cackled, his voice traveling through the whole room like a bullet. " _ **You'll grow to love the feeling of Despair! Just give it time."**_


	25. no one is safe from despair

" _You know what I always thought was annoying?" Monokuma asked, his arms tucked behind his back as he stood up on his darkened stage. "Hidden messages! What kind of bullshit is that? Its some sneaky shit, that's what it is. Using the numbers of an old phone to type out some secret words or every capital letter makes a sentence! Puzzles like that were made by people who are too much of pussies to say what they want! They're usually traitors!"_

 _Monokuma bounced to the edge of the stage, tilting his head to the side before. "_ _ **01010011 01100101 01100101 00100000 01101100 01101111 01101111 01101011 00100000 01100001 01110100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01100001 01110011 01110011 01101000 01101111 01101100 01100101 01110011 00101110 00100000 01000001 01101110 01111001 01101111 01101110 01100101 00100000 01100011 01100001 01101110 00100000 01101101 01100001 01101011 01100101 00100000 01100001 00100000 01110011 01100101 01100011 01110010 01100101 01110100 00100000 01100011 01101111 01100100 01100101 00101110 00100000 01011001 01101111 01110101 00100111 01110010 01100101 00100000 01101110 01101111 01110100 00100000 01110011 01110000 01100101 01100011 01101001 01100001 01101100 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100111 01110010 01100101 00100000 01101110 01101111 01110100 00100000 01110011 01101100 01101001 01100011 01101011 00101110 00100000 01001001 00100111 01101101 00100000 01100111 01100101 01110100 01110100 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01110011 01101001 01100011 01101011 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101001 01110010 01100101 01100100 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01110100 01110010 01111001 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01110011 01110100 01100001 01110000 00100000 01101101 01100101 00100000 01101001 01101110 00100000 01101101 01111001 00100000 01100010 01100001 01100011 01101011 00100001 00100000 01001001 00100000 01100111 01100001 01110110 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01100001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01100101 01101110 01101111 01110101 01100111 01101000 00100000 01110111 01100001 01110010 01101110 01101001 01101110 01100111 01110011 00100001**_ "

 _Monokuma soon returned to normal, drawing his claws as he looked out over the audience. "See! Any asshole can do it! You're not special."_

* * *

For some reason Himura didn't feel good when he woke up. Something was stirring inside his gut as he dragged himself out of bed. Sure, it was usually hard for him to get up in the morning but something new seemed to weigh down on his chest. He groaned, rubbing his chest in hopes to calm down the darkening sensation that seemed to spread with every heartbeat.

This feeling… it was a sensation of foreboding that Himura couldn't explain. He usually felt this undeniable feeling of dread, but never this intense. He felt as if something happened, something that he didn't know yet.

Himura tried to shove it away, avoid focusing on it, as he turned towards his coffee machine. He was surprised he actually had the time to run it today. Lately someone always came along and stopped him right before he could finish. Even as Himura took a long drink from his cup he was astonished no one came and started bashing on his door. Things had been pretty nice lately, everyone was getting along these days.

Himura silently sipped on his drink, getting ready as he enjoyed this peaceful moment. He hoped a dose of caffeine would wear down this horribly tight feeling in his chest. Sliding on his clothes he let out a long, drawn out sigh. Maybe seeing all of his friends would help calm the horrible storm tearing through his gut.

The Barista quietly got ready for his day, finishing his outfit by tying his apron on tight, adjusting his hat and sliding on his shoes. He imagined everyone would be waiting for him in the dining hall at this point. He should hurry down there, otherwise he might miss another delicious breakfast from Bellerose.

The knob of the door was cold against his palm as he twisted it open. Pulling the wood out of his way only to be greeted by the barely covered chest of Kaito waiting outside of his door. The actor stood over him, his hands tucked behind his back.

Himura glanced up, looking at the surprised gaze of the actor. He let out a nervous chuckle, fighting outside of the door before taking a step back. The composure on his face slowly took over the sudden shock, his doe eyes sucking Himura in for a moment, stopping the barista in his tracks.

"Himura, oh Himura. My darling! I am ashamed of my behavior yesterday! I wish to apologize." Kaito pulled a bouquet of roses from behind his back, shoving handing the bundle of red flowers into Himura's arms. Himura had to admit the gesture wasn't too graceful. It actually reminded Himura of a middle school student picking up his first date. Himura never would have imagined to witness Kaito react in such a naive way.

"It's fine. You got nervous and took off. It's chill, don't worry." Himura explained as he moved and tossed the roses onto the counter in his room.

"So are you ready for another delicious breakfast? I wanted to walk you over to the dining hall!" Kaito remarked, his straight teeth glowing in the light of the hall.

"That sounds nice. I was honestly wondering when someone would try and wake me up this morning." Himura joked, letting the actor lead him out of the room and down towards the dining hall.

"Oh? Iris, Luna, Bellerose and Sato have already gathered! I saw them heading down towards the room earlier. I heard Sato say she was planning on getting everyone together for a special event! They were so caught up by what they were discussing they didn't even have time to make sure the three of us were awake yet!" Kaito explained.

"So Koba hasn't woken up yet either?" Himura assumed that was who the third person was that Kaito was talking about.

"Oh yes. I believe he might sleep in late." Kaito answered Himura with a gentle smile.

"Why would you think that?" It wasn't unusual for someone like Koba to want to sleep in late so he wasn't too worried, Himura just wanted to hear Kaito's reasoning for it.

"I saw him come back really late last night from the skate park. He must have been trying to skate up for a few hours." Kaito tapped his bottom lip, pausing to open the dining room door for Himura to enter.

Himura accepted the gesture but was suddenly distracted. The horrible feeling in his gut had returned. Churning at the idea of Koba being out way past nighttime. But why? It wasn't strange for the scientist to go to the skatepark. It would be more unusual for the brightly colored eyesore to avoid the place. Himura shrugged off the horribly bitter taste in his mouth and walked into dining hall, greeted by the warm gazes of his friends.

"Himura! Good morning!" Iris smiled, her hands carefully carrying a large tea pot shaped like a cow on a tray with a few cups. "I was just helping Bellerose with breakfast!"

"We were all helping!" Sato remarked, thrusting herself forward as her arms were filled with trays of food. "I was doing the most work, if we're being honest."

"Kaito said you guys just headed down here a little bit ago. You guys sure got a lot of work done in just a few minutes." Himura joked as he moved to slip into one of the seats.

"A few minutes ago?" Luna seemed confused as the seamstress looked up from her work. Himura could see that she was laying out all of the silverware and plates. "We walked past Kaito standing in front of your door about an hour ago… did it really take him that long to wake you up?"

"An hour?" Himura asked. "No, that's impossible. If Kaito had knocked I would have woken up."

"Then Kaito must have lost some of his mo-jo because he was getting ready to knock when we walked past at 6 in the morning." Bellerose explained, the tall, stern woman walked across the dining hall and helped Sato hand out the food.

"Good morning students!" Makoto called out as the teachers entered the dining hall. He seemed fairly pleased as he looked everyone over. "It's so good to see everyone gathered together for breakfast."

"Actually it looks like we're missing a student." Hajime interjected. "Kobayashi isn't present."

"Right! But I saw Kobayashi on his way to the restroom this morning! So he'll be on his way shortly." Makoto said as he took a seat, pausing before moving to sit next to Kaito.

"It is kinda nice to have everyone get together for breakfast!" Souda remarked, moving to take a seat with Gundam near the end of the table. "I remember we always had one asshole who ruined the whole thing! We couldn't have one good breakfast with that jerk around."

"Do not speak ill of Komaeda when he is present, Kazuichi." Gundam remarked, silently folding his hands on the table.

"No offense taken." Komaeda remarked as he took a seat with Hajime at the table.

"We had the same problem. It made the last days really tense. Byakuya and Toko refused to eat with us." Makoto explained. "But you all get along. No one goes out of their way to be a jerk. It makes this all really refreshing and calm. With this I really thing we can overcome Monokuma together and -"

" _ **Morning Shitlips!**_ "

The door burst open behind them. All heads turned to lock onto the strange sight unfolding behind them. The horrible sensation in Himura's gut seemed to pop, spreading to the rest of his body like a toxin.

Koba waked up to the table, scooping a bread roll off the table and cramming it into his mouth. His face crinkled up, disgusted before he just opened his mouth and let the half chewed, spit soaked roll fall to the ground in a disgusting splat.

"Gross Bellerose! Who puts garlic on bread? I was about to vom!" Koba shouted, laughing before he crammed another into his mouth. "Wait, this one's good. OPS! I judged it too quickly."

"Koba what are you doing?" Bellerose growled, speaking over all of the other bewildered guests in the dining hall.

"Well I saw that all you fuckers had gathered for breakfast so I decided to join ya. Don't be so stupid next time, kay?" Koba let out a laugh as he talked through his half eaten bread roll.

"That's not what I mean." Bellerose growled. "Why are you being such an asshole?"

"Phhhh I'm not being an asshole! You're just sensitive." Koba spat back.

There was another moment of silence. No one really knew how to react to this freak. Koba had always been so peppy and sensitive. Hell, Koba rarely ever cursed. Yet here he was, grinning over the entire group with this attitude Himura couldn't explain. His eyes felt dead, empty and wild as they looked over everyone in the crowd.

"Now Kobayashi there's no reason to act out. Let's just sit down and have a nice breakfast. Then we can talk about what's bothering you." Makoto stood to his feet, the exasperated look on his face told it all as he tried to calm down the disgruntled Koba.

"Shut up you ugly little virgin!" Koba burst out laughing, holding out his gut. "I don't wanna join your shitty little circle jerk and talk about my fucking feelings! Besides, what does a guy like you know anyways! At this point you're just a dirty faker. A wash up! It's so funny to watch you try and ass blast us full of hope like this! Didn't work for your classmates so what makes you think it will work for us? Do everyone here a favor and shut the fuck up."

Makoto seemed hurt by his words. The teacher's eyes fell from the student to the ground, slowly shaking and clenching his chest. Himura had a hard time watching the scene unfold. He couldn't decide what was more awful. Watching the teacher almost cry or watching his friend become a total freak.

"Koba cut it out! Stop being a douchebag!" Sato shouted, pounding her fists on the table as she seemed ready to tear Kobayashi down. "I don't want to kick your ass but I will if I have to!"

"OOOOOOOHHH, Sounds kinky! Can we use rope?" Koba was suddenly drooling, his grin even grosser than before. "I know you won't get anything erotic out of it but I hope you don't mind if I pop a boner."

"That's disgusting. At least try to act like a gentleman." Kaito retorted, pounding his hands onto the table.

"Real powerful coming from the guy who pulled a full Chrissy Amphlett yesterday. You were definitely beating your meat to a different tune then!"

"I-I didn't!" Kaito's face turned beat red as he stood to his feet. "Shut your ugly little face."

"Why don't you shut it for me? I already said getting beat would feel so good right now." Koba smirked, tugging at the collar of his jacket as if he was trying to release steam.

"I'm gonna kick his ass! I'll beat the sense back into him!" Sato remarked, scooping a chair of the ground as she got ready to launch herself over the table. "I'll teach you a lesson you bastard!"

"STOP!" Iris jumped up, her hands shaking as she looked over the scene. "We were all just getting along yesterday! You finally earned Luna's trust! We were all friends! What's going on? What happened to you?"

"OOOOH, delicious Iris, are you sure that's something you really want to know? I promise, my scrumptious queen, you'll regret it." Koba chuckled, suddenly drooling even more than before. "But I'll tell you anyways. I could never turn down a request from someone with such a fine ass as yours, Iris!"

Iris looked disgusted, covering her mouth as she watched the scene unfold in horror. Koba's body moved like a ragdoll, his limbs limp as he took a few steps back. A shadow fell over his face, a cloud that hid the usually friendly face. His eyes spun, something dark was spiralling within them, pulling them all in deeper.

"Get a good look everyone! This is what despair looks like. Soon you'll all be filled with this internal turmoil. And let me just give you some advice!" Koba belted the last half, clenching at his chest as if he was pushing his heart back inside his body. " _ **Despair is so wonderful~!"**_

Iris seemed even more upset, glancing around at everyone else like she didn't know what to do next. The other students seemed to reflect this same mentality. Now one knew what to do. The freak turned everything around into some gross innuendo. But the idea that Koba was conquered by despair was hard to swallow. Koba had always been so full of life. Seeing him like this was a punch in the gut.

"Aaaaw you guys don't like me now, do you?" Koba bit his thumb, looking over all of them with a sad look, almost as if he was about to cry. "Would you prefer me to be how I was before?"

"Yes!" Iris retorted. "We'd prefer the old Koba."

"That's too bad," Koba sighed, "but if you want him, dollface, I'll grab him for you, okay?"

"You can do that? Please bring back the old Koba!" Iris shouted, her small chunks of hair buffing out as she spoke.

"Gotcha." Koba paused, the horrible look suddenly being sucked back into a mockingly sweet expression. He looked just like the old Koba, a friendly smile, his skateboard pulled against his side, that stupid mullet, but even Himura could sense the unsettling feeling that still surrounded the skater. The soft expression broke into a hurricane of tears. "Oh no! Iris, I'm so sorry! I-I said dirty words and I was so mean."

Iris took a few steps closer to him. He could feel his entire body tense up as he watched her get too close for comfort. "It's okay Koba. We're all going through a really hard time right now."

Koba sniffled, wiping tears and snot from his face as he watched the girl come closer to him. "Oh Iris, you always were the nicest one of our friends."

Himura saw her mistake before he could stop her. She reached her hand up, a normal, comforting gesture. She had reached for his cheek, maybe to brush away the tears or just to reassure him. He suddenly moved faster, his mouth popping open with a viscous sound before closing down one of her fingers. Even from where Himura was standing he could tell he was sucking on it.

"AAAH!" Iris tugged her finger away, stumbling back as if he'd just bit her. She clenched her hand against her chest. Her blue eyes stared Koba down with fear.

Koba licked his lips, looking a little upset that Iris had pulled away so soon. He paused before drooling again, pressing his hands against his cheeks as he stared her down. "You taste even better than I imagine. Soft yet rugged! My kind of woman!"

"This is enough!"

There was a swoop of black, a smear across the room as suddenly the culprit was apprehended. Koba was stuck in a headlock before any of them could respond to the new event. Himura almost felt like clapping as he watched Gundam put the student into restraints, tugging his arms behind his body and shoving him to the floor.

"You know, I always wondered why people wanted to fuck their teachers but this is really opening my eyes." Koba joked as Gundam pushed him harder into the ground, restricting any ideas of movement to none.

"Silence!" Gundam shouted, looking even angrier as Koba taunted him. "You shall not speak anymore!"

"You know this is only making me more horny. You have some really nice boots. I imagine if you stepped on my head that would really shut me up." Koba laughed even though half of his face was pressed to the ground. "You know you don't have to be jealous I could easily take both of you at the same time!"

"Th-That's so gross!" Iris was still cradling her attacked hand as she backed further away from the scene.

"Why you-" Gundam seemed even more upset at how this situation was unfolding as he forced him further down.

"Stop, you're just doing exactly what he wants." Luna remarked as she slowly walked over to the scene. "He's just trying to make you angry."

"She's right, sex is better when the top is angry." Koba laughed, only to be cut off by a pained yelp as Gundam grabbed his wrists tighter. "Oh! Owowowowowowowowowow! OW! O W A H! I don't understand why you're all so mad at me. It's not my fault we're all gonna die in this place! It was only a matter of time before it caused me to snap! Besides, there is one good thing I learned last night."

"Oh yeah?" Luna asked, looking down at him with a glare. Suddenly Himura feared for the skater's life. "Why don't you enlighten us then?"

"Well this despair didn't just show up, it came with something else." Koba laughed, now lying in a pile of his own drool. "The Despair came back to me after I _**regained all of my memories**_."

"You have all of your memories back?" Himura asked, standing to his feet.

"He's probably lying. He's going to try and create a divide between us so that we'll fight amongst each other." Kaito retorted as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"No," Komaeda finally stood to his feet, looking over the group with eyes that sent a series of shivers down Himura's spine. "He has no reason to lie."

"Captain Cancer coming in clutch for me yet again." Koba remarked, watching as Komaeda walked over, pushing Gundam off and freeing Koba from his prison. The guy rolled his neck, loosening his muscles before standing to his feet. "For someone who jacks off to the mention of hope you sure understand _**Despair**_ more than the rest of these fuckers!"

"How about you do us all a favor and tell us what you know." Komaeda's voice seemed to pick up that scary venom from before. A ting of something more dangerous that made an alarm go off in his head.

"Yeah! Or else we'll tie you up!" Kazuichi suddenly barked, jolting out of his seat before tossing his hands into the air. His reaction only got an annoyed look from Komaeda. The teacher shooting him some look before he rolled his eyes and went back to Koba.

"You all really want to know?" Koba chuckled. His hands rubbing together as he got back to his feet. The shadow fell over his face once again as he pulled a hand up to cheek, his eyes like a hollow husk. "I know exactly who the traitor is. If you guys want I'll be happy to tell you."

Himura paused, he glanced around, seeing the stiffened classmates around him. The confused yet curious looks around him. He took a deep breath. Unsure if he really wanted to know the truth.

"Aw, did you all forget about that? The fact that one of you is talking directly to Monokuma slip all of your shitty little heads? You think I'm an asshole but one of you is literally working with the mastermind!"

Then tell us who it is," Himura tested him, joining the crowd that gathered around Kobayashi, "Stop messing with us and just tell us who the traitor is."

"Oh Himura. You were the one person I wanted to get the okay from." Koba was bouncing in his step, pausing as suddenly stood up on his tippy toes, suddenly spinning like a top before his finger finally landed on Sato.

"Wha- I'm not the traitor!" Sato barked.

"Sorry I guess I finished prematurely." Koba joked, turning his finger down one more person and targeting Kaito. "It's you! Ryuunosuke Kaito is the traitor."

Kaito paused slowly stepping up towards Koba. The actor's long, beautiful locks billowed around him like the finest silk. His face was blank, almost emotionless as he stood face to face with the despair ridden Kobayashi.

"Aw, you made I revealed your secret?" Koba started to chuckle, covering his face as he tried to hide the onslaught of laughter that bubbled out of his chest. "Now no one is going to want to be your friend! Everyone is going to turn on you and kill you! Aren't you excited? I be-"

 _ **Whack!**_

Koba went flying when Kaito's fist met with his head. He went flying, smashing into the nearest wall with another thump. The beat Kobayashi still looked victorious, a giant grin on his face as he waited for the scene to unfold.

"Kaito, he's lying right? You're not a traitor." Bellerose looked worried, her eyes begging Kaito.

"Yeah! You wouldn't betray us like that! That shit licker is just trying to fuck with all of us." Sato bargained, clenching her first angerly.

"Why would he lie," Komaeda started, slowly shaking his head. "Koba has no re-"

"He's telling the truth." Kaito sighed, his hands falling to his side as he looked over everyone. "Before this game even started Monokuma came to me and promised me an important role in this whole story. He told me if I leaked him information of what's happening I would be rewarded with the role of a lifetime. I realized how evil it all was during the third trial when Himura was under fire. So I stopped helping him around then. I actually gave Himura my secret in hopes it would tell everyone the truth but unfortunately it read something completely different."

"I-I can confirm that." Himura started, still a bit blown away by this whole ordeal. "He gave me his secret but I didn't read it until recently. He handed it to me and… and he told me I could trust him."

"Well Himura," Bellerose asked, crossing her arms over her chest ,"Do you still trust him?"

"Yeah… I don't think Kaito is working with the mastermind anymore." Himura sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he avoided eye contact with the actor. "I trust him."

"Well then I trust him too!" Sato shouted, pumping her arms into the air as she grew a wild grin. "Himura's always right and I will blindly follow him!"

"I won't say that," Bellerose started, messing with her ponytail for a moment before she let off a slight chuckle, "But as a long term fan of Kaito's work I know the idiot would do anything for a good role. The idea of him doing this for a substantial place in this game isn't too hard to swallow."

"Kaito's helped me in the garden so he can't be that bad!" Iris was on the defense too, pumping her hands up into the air.

"Wait what? How are you guys not pissed? He's been lying to all of you!" Koba was on his feet again, suddenly his face was contorted into a mask of pure hatred. "You're supposed to tear eachother apart!"

"There's no point in fighting anymore," Luna spoke, crossing her arms as she glared over at Koba. "Fighting will just lead us to killing each other. This only means we have to keep a closer eye on him."

"What the fuck?" Koba was fuming, clenching his fists as he glared at the rest of them. He huffed for a few moments before suddenly shrugging. "Whatever I guess. I don't have time to care about this shit."

"He got over that fast…" Sato mumbled, scratching her chin as she looked over everyone.

What was going on, his mind was still spinning from the events that were currently taking place. They had revealed the traitor but it felt… lacking. He'd expected more from his classmates. Someone lashing out at the idea of one of them working for Monokuma. Yet they all just went along with him, accepting the fact that Kaito was no longer working with the mastermind. Himura couldn't help the feeling that this couldn't be all there was to this… that maybe there was more behind this horrible murder game that they were all missing.

Yet, at the same time, he agreed with Luna. There was no point in fighting. Truthfully Himura didn't want to fight, he didn't want to distrust Kaito. He just wanted this game to be over. Kaito could have done something horrible and Himura felt as if he'd still trust him. No matter what happened Himura would defend Kaito to the end.

"Well there's no point in standing around here!" Sato shouted, looking determined again as she seemed to glow with positivity. "I still want to have the party we planned!"

"You planned a party?" Kaito turned to look at Sato with a small smile. "I do love parties."

"Yeah! I thought it would be fun if we all sat together and painted each other's nails!" Sato grinned, clenching her hands and pulling them to her chest.

"I still wanna do that too!" Iris was beaming again, her hands cupped near her chest.

"Himura and Kaito you're totally invited!" Sato turned towards the two of them with a large grin. "I could never leave you guys out!"

"What about me?" The corner of Koba's eyes were filled with crocodile tears, his large eyes darting around before targeting Iris. He pouted out his lower lip like a child, sniffling as he continued to beg. "Are you guys just going to leave me out? How will I ever feel hope again if you exclude me from valued time with my friends."

"Oh hell no! Don't you even-" Sato tried to cut this one short but Koba seemed to know exactly who to target.

"You can come!" Iris cupped her hands, looking determined but… worried. "If there's a chance it will fill you with hope I'm willing to take it!"

"Wh- But he'll ruin it!" Sato whimpered.

"It's better to have him come along." Luna remarked, rubbing her forehead, a defeated look on her face. "If he doesn't come he'll be left alone. God knows what he'll do if we leave him unattended."

"Fine! But he better behave!" Sato pouted, obviously disappointed her party was now set to fail.

"We'd appreciate it if you guys came too," Bellerose gestured towards the teachers, her eyes glancing over them carefully.

"Sounds great! We'll definitely come!" Makoto gave a quick nod, obviously pleased by this bonding moment they were all going to share.

"I already decked out my bedroom for the occasion! We can all gather there!" Sato grinned, flashing her large canines.

"Are you sure we'll all fit inside of your room?" Himura asked. "The bedrooms aren't that big."

"Oh don't worry, we moved my bed out of the way! Now we have the whole floor to make a circle!"

Himura didn't even want to know what they did with the bed? Where else could they have put it? He should have known Sato would stop at nothing to get the chance to paint all of the girl's nails.

The group left for the door, Sato at the lead as she led the group out towards her bedroom. Himura watched as Koba tried to get up close to Iris, only to be snatched by the collar by Kaito and dropped down next to the actor. It was good to know someone would keep Koba at bay.

When they got to Sato's room, Himura was a little surprised to see the circle of pillows she had laid out in the room. A huge pile of nail polish was carefully laid out in the center of the group. More colors than Himura had very imagined being possible. Sato was right though, the bed wasn't in the room anymore, making plenty of room for everyone to gather on the floor.

Everyone moved to take their seats in the circle, Himura staying close to Kaito as they all dispersed over the area. Himura noticed Komaeda took a seat at Himura's other side, Hajime on the other side. With a sense of worry Himura realized Koba had snagged one of the seats next to Iris. Once everyone was settled, Himura took note of everyone's seats, the first and last connecting it in a ring. Sato, Souda, Gundam, Iris, Koba, Makoto, Kaito, Himura, Komaeda, Hajime, Luna, and Bellerose.

Once everyone was settled Sato smiled, clapping her hands as she looked over the whole group. "Welcome to my Polish Palace! I have every color you could ever want plus a few more for good measure! Just name it and we can paint each other's nails! I want this to be a team effort so everyone work together, kay?"

"Like Neon Orange?" Koba asked, a smug look on his face as he looked over the colors. "Or did you throw that one away after Kagapoo used it?"

"No… I just… I kept it in the bag. I didn't think anyone would want to see it." Sato explained, covering her mouth slightly.

"Sato! I think this color would look lovely on you." Bellerose scooped up one of the bottles off of the ground, bringing the attention away from Koba for the moment. "This electric blue matches your jumpsuit."

"Oh shit you're right!" Sato grinned, "That one's one of my favorites! I wear it all the time."

"I figured you would." Bellerose smiled before looking over the other polishes, "Now which one do you think I'd like."

"Well you always seem to wear black and white so I think you need a little bit more color. I really think think a light purple would look good on you." Sato remarked, holding up the bottle before giving a slight wink.

"Well personally I can't imagine Gundam wearing any color other than black." Souda mumbled, scratching his head as he started to ponder over the idea. "Or a really, really dark purple."

"I think this matte black nail polish would be perfect," Sato smiled, handing the bottle to Souda, "I would suggest a french tip to really add some pizzaz but unfortunately I don't think you could handle that."

"What's a french tip?" Souda asked, taking the bottle as he just looked even more confused.

"Honestly that's what I expected to hear." Sato sighed, scratching her jaw.

Gundam reached over the pile, picking out three bottles of paint and setting them down beside him. He seemed already focused, gently picking up one of Souda's hands and looking over the nail. Souda immediately seemed flustered as the dark lord got to work on his nails first.

Everyone else seemed to be following his lead, digging through the bottles to find the colors they wanted to see. Kaito had a gentle smile as he dug out a brilliant golden color, he paused, glancing at Himura before Makoto spoke for him.

"Ryuunosuke! I think this color would look really nice on you!" Makoto waved a olive colored nail polish in front of the actor, grinning as he looked over the bottle. "I really like this color and we could match, I think that would be cute."

"I- uh," Kaito paused, glancing at Himura before setting down the gold nailpolish and turning to his father. "Of course! Green was always your color dad!"

"I'm so glad you agree!" Makoto cheered, gently taking Kaito's hand so he could get to work. Himura couldn't even be mad that his boyfriend was snatched out from under his feet, it was really cute to see some familial bonding take place. Plus Makoto was too cute to try and stop him.

"Sorry your boyfriend got swiped away from you," Luna spoke from her segment of the circle. "If you don't mind I can paint your nails."

"Sure, go for it." Himura smiled, though he swore he heard Kaito groan as he turned away from him.

Luna already had an assortment of colors at her disposal. Komaeda and Luna switched spots, letting the seamstress get closer to him so she could work a little bit easier. As she got started, Himura realized she was making each finger a different color. "I think you need more color in your life. You're so neutral all the time, it's so basic."

"I have to say I've gotten pretty good at these nail painting parties over the years," Komaeda smiled as he lifted a light pink. "This is the same color Kouki always paints your nails."

"Well that makes it harder to decide what to do for you! Kouki always gives you several different colors at once!" Hajime chuckled, picking up a few specific bottles. "She's always doing experimental nail stuff on you before she tries to do it to herself."

"I am her guinea pig." Komaeda chuckled. "But I know she loves giving me nail polish with glitter in it. She also loves warm colors. She always says it gives my cold, dead skin some warmth."

The two of them chuckled softly, it was like watching an old, loving couple interacting. Himura could barely hold in a soft gasp.

"Y U C K!" Koba groaned as he rolled his eyes. "This lovey dovey shit is so grodey!" He paused, looking at Iris before wiggling his eyebrows. "But at least we're on a team. That sounds nice, right? You want to paint my nails, right?"

"I… I have always wanted to paint your nails…" Iris smiled weakly, glancing around at everyone else before looking through the pile of polish.

"Iris, you don't have to paint his nails," Sato started, glaring over at Koba as she prepared to protect her friend. "If you want I can paint your nails after Bellerose is done with mine. We don't have to let him participate."

"No, it's fine. I'm the one who invited him to come." Iris reassured the lesbian with a gentle smile.

"Yeah, back off!" Koba huffed, "Just because your girlfriends keep dying doesn't mean you have to try and steal mine!"

"Koba you can't say things like that to people." Iris reprimanded. She grabbed a bottle of nail polish and yanked his hand closer. "I picked your favorite color, okay? You'll love it."

"Is it that nasty chartreuse green? That's so obnoxious. Honestly I only liked that color because I needed attention. I'm not begging for human approval anymore so honestly that color sucks."

"Then how about this neon pink? It even glows in the dark."

"I said I wasn't looking for attention. Glowing in the dark is something for an edgy pre pubescent teenager."

"Okay… um what about Yellow."

"Yeah, I really want to look like a highlighter. Thanks but no thanks, hun."

"We could do teal? Teal is a nice color." Iris sounded exasperated at this point. She worriedly dug through the pile, unsure of what she wanted to do. She was obviously getting fed up with him.

"Teal is a shitty color too. I really do-"

"What do you want then?" Iris snapped a bit, looking fed up as she glared at Koba. "You pick the color then."

"Ops! Did I get on your nerves? I'm sorry. You shouldn't be so sensitive." Koba grinned, picking up a bottle of nail polish off the ground before handing it to her. "How about this color? I like red nails, just imagining them digging into my back gets me revved up and and ready to go!"

Iris paused, taking the nail polish from him before her hands started to tremble. She swallowed, looking conflicted as she avoided looking Koba in the face. She went to go paint his nails, pausing as she made eye contact with him again. Her big, blue eyes suddenly began to water.

"Damn, are you going to cry?" Koba asked, leaning in closer to Iris. "Do you not like me anymore?"

"No! I hate this! I want the old Koba back!" Iris clenched her fists, glaring at this new Koba with disdain.

"The old Koba? Why would you ever want that repressed loser back when you could have me instead?" Kobayashi looked like he was about to break into laughter.

"Of course I prefer the old Koba to you! He was so innocent and pure. H-He cared about my feelings and he was our friend." Iris argued, determination flashed in her eyes as she stared Koba down.

"You just think Koba was so innocent and pure? You don't know anything. I am Koba! Every repressed idea and sexual perversion. He was ashamed of me, ya know." Kobayashi smirked, putting a hand on his cheek as he told his story.

"That's not true…" Iris sniffled, digging her nails into thighs as if she was afraid of what would come next.

"Oh it's true, sugar tits." Koba waved his finger, dismissing her before he started to drool again. Cupping his face in his hands. "Once you were wearing a bright red bra under your shirt, you totally didn't know you could see right through it ya minx, and It totally made me all hot and bothered! I absolutely touched myself just to the idea of you in that bra and nothing else. Then I couldn't look you in the eyes for a whole week! Not to mention the time you wore a skirt to school, honestly I don't know what was wrong with me for not taking you right then and there! AHAHAHAHAHAHA! I have to say your floral pink panties are my absolute favorite!" "

"That's enough" Sato was on her feet in seconds. Her face was was almost as red as Kaito's hair at this point.

"Aw, I was just being honest!" Koba teased her. "Besides what are you going to do to stop me?"

"This, asshole!" Sato grabbed Koba up by his collar, dragging him out of the room and tossing him out into the hallway. "Jerk off alone dickbag!"

"You can't hide from me forever! I'll find all of you! You'll have to face the truth soon enough! You're all going to die in this place! You filthy, disgusting fuckers deserve to die!" Koba's voice dropped, malice and evil seemed to flood every word that came out of his mouth. "Don't you think for a second that I'll let you walk all over me like this! I'll kill all of you! You hear me! You'll all die at my hands and I will la-"

She slammed the door, locking it behind her before she rejoined her friends in the circle.

"You know it might not be safe to let him wander around on his own." Komaeda warned.

"I don't care! He's breaking Iris' heart and I can't stand it anymore!" Sato looked towards Iris. "You don't need to listen to him! He's garbage!"

Iris just looked humiliated as she pulled down her hat to shadow her obviously flushed cheeks. She sighed before glancing around at everyone. Her eyes going over each pair before she stood to her feet. "I appreciate the gesture but I think I'm just going to go to my room. I wanna be alone right now."

"Let me walk you there at least! I wanna keep you safe from that asshole!" Sato offered.

"No… I can handle myself. You guys enjoy your party without me." Iris got to her feet, ignoring Sato's pleas to let her help and leaving the room. The group was silent for a bit as Sato was obviously contemplating whether she should follow Iris or not.

"Just let her go." Bellerose suggested. "If she needs space we should give it to her. We're just going to make her more upset if we follow her around until she talks to us."

"Let's just finish the party, okay?" Komaeda suggested, turning back to his work on Hajime's nails. "He won't kill anyone. It would be too obvious. The most he'd do is trick someone into murder."

"Gundam what did you do to my nails?" Souda suddenly shouted, pulling up his hand and looking at them, his lip curled up as if he was disgusted by them.

Himura got a good look at the nails from where he was sitting. They looked like some psychedelic nail art, the colors of pink, yellow, and blue swirled together on each nail in a lovely pattern. Himura was pretty impressed, to be honest. He didn't know the dark lord had that kind of skill in him.

"That's a really good job…" Sato mumbled, obviously jealous of her teachers nails. "But how could you do that while everything was going on?"

Gundam looked confused, raising an eyebrow before glancing around. "Where did Iris go?"

"She just left… were you not paying attention?" Bellerose asked, looking annoyed at the teachers obliviousness.

"I was focusing all of my magic and passion the task at hand!" Gundam replied.

"Sometimes when Gundam get's into something he doesn't notice the shit that's happening around him." Souda explained, "It's wild what he'll miss sometimes."

"Iris went to her room for the night," Hajime explained, looking a bit worried about upsetting the dark lord, "she said she wasn't feeling good."

"If that is the case I shall check on her!" Gundam stood to his feet, scooping up a few bottles of nailpolish. "I shall help her complete this ritual you have invited me to, it is quite fun."

Before anyone could argue with him, Gundam left the room. The rest of them sat around, glancing around at each other. Then Bellerose gave a gentle smile as she held up Sato's hands. "I made all your nails that pretty blue except the middle one, which I made pink. That way the whole setup is kind of like a car's racing stripe."

"Aw, you know me so well." Sato was suddenly oozing positivity as she gushed over the paint job Bellerose had performed on her nails. She looked them over, almost as if she thought she was going to cry.

Kaito suddenly stood to his feet, closing the nail polish and setting it down on the ground. Makoto looked confused as Kaito brushed himself off. "I think I'm going to call it a night too, I have to catch up on my beauty sleep."

Before anyone could stop him Kaito left the room, slowly narrowing down on the numbers of people left in the room. Makoto cleared his throat, looking over his half done nails with confusion. It looked like Kaito had only painted three of them before he decided to bounce.

"Well that's not what I was expecting from Kaito." Bellerose mumbled, looking over Makoto's nails with a frown. "He didn't even do a very good job."

"Wh-What? This is so strange… he usually insists on painting my nails…" Makoto frowned, looking over his nails in disappointment.

"Koba's behavior is apparently affecting everyone." Bellerose sighed, standing to her feet and brushing herself off. "I have to go though. I should start dinner for everyone."

"I think I'm going to bounce as well," Komaeda stood up next. "Honestly this nail painting session has just made me quite sad."

The group slowly started to disperse, one by one, everyone left Sato's room. Frowning, Himura tried to apologize to the racer once everyone was gone but it didn't seem to do much to make her feel better. She only shrugged, shutting the door behind him before Himura shrugged, heading off to his room all by himself. What a weird day this had turned out to be… Maybe tomorrow would be a little bit better?

* * *

Komaeda had heard the news from Makoto. The sighting of a ghost in the garden piqued his interest. It was close to nighttime at this point, a few hours before the gate to the upstairs closed, but the lucky student felt the need to talk to the botanist.

The halls were pretty empty but the teacher was unsure if that was due to the lack of students left trapped in this school or if they were all too afraid to run into the changed Kobayashi.

Without a second of hesitation he knocked on her door, hoping her mood had changed at least a little bit from this afternoon. He needed the answers and if she wasn't in the mood to coperate than he would have to wait even longer to ask her again.

Komaeda was pleased when the short gardener opened the door right away. She looked confused to see the tall, lanky teacher standing at her door. She glanced up at his face, then looked down at the door. "C-Can I help you?"

"Why yes you can. I had a few questions for you." Komaeda crossed his arms, thinking over where to start. "Makoto told me about something you saw in the garden. He said that there was a ghost? That they were wearing a green coat… My first question is why would you describe her as a ghost?"

"Oh, I-"

"Komaeda-Sensei!" Sato belted around the corner, barely stopping before she bolted towards Komaeda. He let out a sigh, looked like his conversation would have to wait.

"What's the matter, Sato?" Komaeda groaned, annoyed as he looked over at her. "You're acting as if there's a fire inside of the school."

"There is! There is a fire!" Sato was running in place, her arms flapping around as if she was trying to gain more attention. "The third floor is on fire!"

"Wait, what did you just say?" Komaeda asked, pulling back as he watched the racer in shock.

"The beach room, There's fire inside! I-I don't know what to do! I tried to call for Monokuma but he didn't answer." Sato was panicking at this point. This wasn't a joke, the school really was on fire.

"We need to hurry! I'll head up and see what I can do. You go get the others, understand?" Komaeda suddenly jumped to take command of the situation. He waited for Sato to bolt before he raced up the stairs.

He barely noticed as Iris followed him up the stairs. He didn't really care at this point. The two of them burst onto the third floor and Komaeda didn't see any smoke. However, he did see the flames licking up the front of the door to the beach room. Komaeda rushed over. He was actually a little nervous to see what was inside. A moment of fear actually washed over him before he went to open the door. At this moment he tried to remember the last time he'd seen everyone.

Why was his brain doing these? Grieving as if he'd already lost all of his friends. Taking a deep breath, he ripped open the door. The flames lashed up at him, the heat burning at his skin but it didn't seem to be making a mark. After a second of lashing out at him, the flames parted for him, suddenly refusing to touch his skin anymore. He ignored it for now, powering through it so he could witness the scene hidden inside this ball of flame.

Suddenly he felt sick, his gut churned as he stumbled inside the room. How

How did he

Get

Back

Inside

The

Warehouse?

He was inside of the warehouse, the hard floor underneath his feet. How did he get here.

A scream split through the air. Iris had somehow seen what happened. She saw the scene that made his head spin.

Where was he?

He

Felt

Lost

Was this really happening?

Was

This world

Real?

He fell to his knees, a cough stifling his throat. He couldn't comprehend what was going on. He felt as if the smoke was choking him. He didn't know what to do. He just stayed on his knees, watching with stifling fear.

What the hell was he looking at?

watch?v=QPC2viobAHo


	26. when will this finally end

_**Students Left**_

* * *

 _6_

* * *

 _Komaeda was suddenly lying in a hospital bed. It was his old hospital bed. He let out a long, tired groan as he could feel his lungs collapsing. The burning sensation that spread through his body every time he tried to move. It was a painful sign that he was coming to the end of his days._

 _There was movement against his side as a little girl snuggled up to him. Her massive amount of platinum pink hair was pulled into a messy bun on top of her head. She quietly shifted as Komaeda let out another long, ragged breath. Her green eyes darted over him with worry before she snuggled up closer as she tried to focus more on her specially crafted tablet._

 _Kouki always did have Hajime's eyes. She would have his hair too but she always wanted to color and curl it to look just like Komaeda. Komaeda was never sure why she'd want to look like him. Sometimes it made him sad that she looked up to him so much._

 _She suddenly shuddered, looking cold in the bright hospital room. From what Komaeda had gathered she had walked here alone in the rain, finding her own way to the hospital. That's what she told Komaeda, anyways. That she had snuck out of the school while Hajime was busy getting everything prepared at the school. Hajime would be calling the hospital soon but until then he could enjoy his daughter's company. She was smart enough to bring a spare pair of clothes in her backpack so she could have something dry to wear. But she wasn't able to do anything about her damp hair. She had to be freezing at this point, especially inside the air conditioned hospital._

 _He paused, glancing at the chair rested at the side of his bed. The nurse had been nice enough to hang his clothes over the side. His pants and shirt were neatly folded on the seat of the chair while his jacked was tossed over the back. There was a moment when he just stared over the dark green fabric of the jacket, slowly gathering the energy to speak._

" _Kouki, are you cold?"_

" _N-No I'm okay." She stuttered out, her voice shivering as she tried not to look up from her game. Komaeda barely noticed as she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. She was definitely trying to hide it from her dad._

" _You know it's not good to lie." Komaeda teased, trying to hold back the painful gasp that escaped him as he sat forward. Great, now he could feel her frightened eyes watching him. He was trying to comfort her, not make her even more scared of what was coming. "Besides I got you a present."_

" _Daddy… sit back down. You're not supposed to get out of bed." Kouki spoke softly. It was rare to hear her talk that much anymore, she only ever spoke words when they were alone . "The doctor says you need to rest."_

 _Komaeda plucked the jacket off the chair, slowly walking back towards Kouki with a smile. The pain shot up through his body. It hurt so much, but he had to make her feel better. "Here, I want you to have this! It's my special jacket. Now it's all yours. It'll keep you warm."_

" _Don't people give valuable stuff away before they die?" Kouki asked, suddenly acting like the jacket was some kind of omen. That if she even touched it Komaeda would spontaneously combust._

" _What? Who told you that?" Komaeda sighed, sitting back on the bed before putting the jacket over her shoulders. "I'm giving this to you because I love you. I know this is all really hard on you. I wish this could be easier, that my cancer could just go away, but it doesn't work like that. I wish I could spend more time with you that wasn't you sneaking away from your dad and seeing me in the hospital. I just want you to have this jacket so I can keep you safe. Something to remind you that I'll always be watching over you."_

 _Kouki paused, looking over the jacket before she slid her tiny arms into the sleeves. She paused, looking conflicted before she burst out in bubbly giggles. "I love it Daddy! It smells funny, just like you!"_

 _Komaeda couldn't help the small chuckle that sputtered painfully from his chest as he laid back in bed. Everything about her was just so… beautiful. "Do I really smell funny?"_

" _You always smell funny! Like you're always sweaty!" Kouki giggled, laying her damp head against Komaeda's shoulder._

 _Komaeda let out a long, happy sigh as he enjoyed her company. It might be some of the last days he ever got to spend with her. As much as he wanted to pretend it was all going to be okay he knew that he probably wasn't going to get another streak of luck. The luckiest he'd ever gotten was having Kouki and Hajime as permanent members of his life. The most unlucky thing for him right now would be death during the only time he's ever wanted to live._

" _Komaeda… is it okay if I come talk to you for a moment?" Mikan suddenly poked her head inside of the room, her dark black hair surrounding her face._

" _Come on in Mikan." Komaeda watched as Kouki snuggled quietly into the jacket, moving her face back to her tablet._

" _Well I gave Kobayashi a call since it seemed like the treatment wasn't working." Mikan started slowly, a worried look crossing her face._

 _Kouki suddenly looked startled, glancing at Komaeda with a scared look before he gently rubbed her back. Mikan must have realized what she said was bad because she was instantly apologizing._

" _I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have said something like that with Kouki around!" Mikan covered her face in shame, only causing Kouki to freak out more at her reaction._

" _Mikan it's fine. You're just scaring her more." Komaeda tried to reassure her, if he could convince her it was fine maybe she would get to the point. The last thing he wanted to do was cause Kouki more issues. "What did Kobayashi say."_

" _Well the thing is Kobayashi is here to see you." Mikan paused, glancing out the door before looking back at Komaeda. "I wanted to make sure if it was okay that he came in to see you."_

" _Yes, bring him in Mikan." Komaeda sighed, settling into the bed more. "Why didn't you start with that."_

" _I'm sorry!" Mikan whimpered before stepping out of the way. A lanky kid walked into the room. He was looking a lot better than before, his hair brushed and styled into a questionable look. He even had on new clothes than the old rags he'd carried over from the old facility._

" _It's good to see you, Komaeda Sensei. I-I heard the medicine wasn't working?" Kobayashi spoke softly, moving over to the end table to look over the pill bottles on the side of the counter._

 _Kouki shrank away from the stranger, looking uncomfortable being around someone she didn't know. She hugged her dad's chest, looking angry at the man as he glanced over the medications._

" _I still feel horrible. My chest is like it's collapsing and my whole body is shutting down." Komaeda sighed, he didn't even notice that he had hugged Kouki closer to him as he spoke. "I just don't think the treatment is working."_

" _Oh no, the medication worked! You're cancer free!" Koba chuckled, setting the pill bottles back down on the counter before he gently rubbed his jaw. Then he reached into his bag, handing a small pill bottle over to Komaeda. "It just looks like you picked up the wrong dose! Your body is just weak right now because the initial treatment kills a lot of the cells in your body! The second one energizes you and helps replenish all the energy spent on fighting the cancer. Once you get on the right dose of Aftercare you'll be as good as new! I have some pills you can start taking now and I'll work on making you more as soon as possible!"_

 _Komaeda remembered how his heart pounded in his chest. Was this student telling him… he was going to live? He felt his mouth go dry, his pale eyes focusing on Koba. "So you're saying I'm fine?"_

" _Yup! You might have to take a smaller dosage for the rest of your life since the cancer had already done a number to your immune system but it'll be a very low dose in a few days!" Koba smiled, pausing as he went and dug through one of his bags. "Plus, that reminds me. I got you a present Kouki! I saw it in one of the gift stores and I thought you'd like it."_

 _The little girl just looked at him, suddenly silent as the boy dug through his messenger bag. She looked cautious of him, obviously not trusting of the doctors who came and visited her father. He knew she was angry at everyone she associated with this hospital. Even Mikan had gotten the backlash of just helping to take care of him when he was here. Though none of them could be mad, she was just a child afraid of her own father's possible death._

 _Kobayashi pulled a stuffed rabbit from his bag, smiling before he handed it over to Kouki. "I saw that these were getting popular and I thought you would like one. Apparently she was designed by the Ultimate Therapist! I figured you could, uh, put your vocal assistant inside of her so it wasn't in such a weird, clunky necklace."_

 _Kouki paused, a hand gently touching the large piece of metal around her neck before she puffed out her cheeks. She was obviously insulted he even brought it up._

 _The necklace… Ever since the accident… she had developed selective mutism. She even had a hard time talking to his classmates, people she had grown up seeing as aunts and uncles. The doctors said it was caused by chronic anxiety that made her unable to speak. The doctors also told them that she would eventually grow out of it but as Komaeda got sicker… her condition seemed to get worse._

 _Soon Alter Ego and Souda helped create that necklace she wore around her neck. Using her little tablet she could make words and sentences come out of the necklace. It helped her get through everyday life even if her parents weren't around. Komaeda also knew that Kouki hated how the necklace looked. She hated that every person she met asked her what it was right away._

 _Kouki gently took the pink and white stuffed bunny, hugging it gently before looking up at Kobayashi. Her necklace flashed in the light as it formed the words for her._

" _Y?"_

" _Yeah, you're daddy's going to live for a long time, okay."_

 _Kouki hugged the bunny tighter, even from where Komaeda was sitting her could see the tears that started to form in his daughter's eyes. She suddenly let out one loud, broken sniffle before she started to sob so hard she looked as if she might vomit. The dam behind her eyes breaking and pouring out her entire heart._

" _H!"_

 _Koba seemed startled that she was crying, the kid pulling away from the little girl before looking at Komaeda nervously. Even looking back on this memory Komaeda didn't even know he had started crying too._

" _It's the least I could do for all ya help, Captain!" Koba chuckled, genuinely putting his hands over his chest. "School starts tomorrow and I couldn't be more excited! I don't know where I'd be if Mikan and you hadn't gotten me out of the Despair Reformatory! Plus since I've been learning so much about the world since ya freed me! I have hobbies now!"_

 _Komaeda could feel the memory start to grow fuzzy. The edges slowly closing in. But he didn't care, he latched onto the warm colors that slowly filled that disgusting hospital room. The smile on his daughter's face as she knew he was going to be okay, and the last remains of a living Kobayashi._

" _Oh yeah? Any favorites you wanna tell me about?"_

" _Well duh! Did you know that America used to have this show called Saved by the Bell? It was super funny. Plus I really wanted to get into skateboardin'! All of those people seem really cool!"_

The darkness of the warehouse was slowly taking over. Soon he could see more of the charred remains of the room than the bright, colorful face of Fumio Kobayashi. It slowly took over until all Komaeda could see were the child's remains laid out in front of him. Fumio Kobayashi didn't deserve to die like this

Fumio Kobayashi was a good kid. He wasn't a monster like Komaeda… he didn't deserve any of this.

* * *

 _There's been a body Discovered! Everyone gather on the third floor to start the investigation!_

D...Did Himura hear that right? Did Monokuma just say that there was a body discovered? Himura stood up, walking towards the door of his room with a fuzzy head. Was this really happening again?

His heart sank as he worked his lead filled feet to the door. Heavy steps as he felt his heart rise to his throat. Right now he felt naive for believing that the killings could be over. The idea that they could be free of death was something that was so far out of their reach. Sighing, Himura pulled open his door, just in time to see Kaito walking towards the stairs…

...and for some reason he wasn't wearing a shirt?

"Kaito, you didn't spill grape juice on yourself again, did you?" Himura joked, though the nauseating sensation that boiled in his chest made the words ragged and broken. At least Kaito wasn't dead. That was something to be hopeful about, right?

"What?" His voice was less airy than usual, almost as if Himura had caught him off guard. The actor turned, looking at him with a confused glance before rubbing his shoulder, mumbling to himself before he actually spoke to Himura first. His smile returned, hair bouncing happily around his head as he started to speak in his normal flamboyant tone. "Oh no dear, _**I accidently ripped my shirt!**_ But there's not time to dwell on that! There's a murder to be solved!"

Himura paused, nodding before he followed Kaito up the stairs. The two of them didn't have to even explore the third floor before they saw everyone gathered around the beach room. Himura noticed most of the students and teachers had already gathered around the location. He quickly took not of everyone who was there, desperately trying to figure out which one of his friends had died.

Sato was out of breath, standing near all the teachers, except Komaeda, as she clenched at her chest, sweat rolling down her face in waves.

Bellerose was covering her mouth, staring into the room in silence.

Iris was near the door, covering her eyes as her entire body was trembling.

And finally… Luna was just walking out of the room as she looked over at Himura.

The only person who was missing was… no. Himura felt his chest seize up, clamping up at the very idea. For the first time, he was almost too afraid to look at the murder. Too afraid to look inside the door and witness the death of one of his closest friends.

Why did Koba have to die?

Sure, the last day was rough, it stirred up conflicting feelings about the wannabe skater. He had acted so unnaturally different. He spoke words that he never expected to hear from the soft boy's mouth. Things that rolled off his tongue opposed the person they had grown to love. Koba had always been caring and considerate, he'd made Himura and so many of the other students believe it was all going to be okay. Fumio Kobayashi had been a sign that they could live through their trauma, that things would get better. But now Himura wasn't sure what to believe. At this very moment he saw his mother's eyes peering through his soul. He felt the despair that constricted his lungs, slowly crushing the air out of him. It was like the air was slowly being stolen from him before being repleted with the inky, dark water of despair.

It changed something, a ticking in his head suddenly stopped. He thought back to the beginning. He suddenly wished he'd had more time with the guy. That his days with him weren't over. He couldn't even walk to the room to actually see the guy's body before his knees started to tremble. He didn't want this to be real, he didn't want to live in this truth.

Fumio Kobayashi was the nicest person he'd ever met. He helped him through this demented killing game and made Himura feel as if there might be a happy ending to this tragedy. Now the tiny voice in the back of his head suddenly was speaking louder. _There's no point. There's no point anymore. Everyone's going to die. Everyone will die and there's nothing you can do. Give up…_

Giving up sounded… nice. If he didn't help with this trial they'd all die. Maybe that could be their happy ending? An ending where they no longer had to play this sick game anymore. Koba forced him to shove this reality away when Sugai and Kusonoki died but now, now Himura understood that it was the only way out of this mess. The only way he could ever really win this game.

"Hiiiiiimura~" Kaito broke the barista out of his dead gaze, staring into the nothingness in front of him. The actor's bright blue eyes stared down on him. "We don't have a lot of time to stand around hun. Now is the time to dilly dally baby!"

Himura felt a slow pump return to his heart. The spark was small, a tiny flame in a downfall of rain, but it was enough to keep Himura going. Ryuunosuke Kaito, the angelic actor who played a big role in his heart. Right now, it was a minor reason for him to keep his legs moving but for the moment, it was enough.

"Right, let's hurry up and get this done." Himura sighed, walking towards the bloody scene that was inevitably hidden behind that door. "It's like ripping off a bandaid, right? Better to just rip it off than let it fester."

The two of them walked into the scene and Himura… Himura almost gagged. It wasn't the smell of the blood. It wasn't the gore or the spear that made him sick. It was the cold, dead look on Koba's face. He'd been someone else before this happened but now, staring down at the permanently solemn look on his face, Himura felt as if he was looking at the old Kobayashi again.

That's when his eyes locked onto something in the back of the room. A gentle red against the grey cement of the ground. They were- No, they couldn't be. Why would those be here, the gentle curves of the organic material made his static heart race. He barely noticed Kaito leave his side, the actor moving to investigate another corner of the room.

Without really thinking, Himura walked over and picked them off the ground. Right now now one seemed to notice what he was doing. They were too busy investigating the body. Too busy with their dead friend to notice as Himura shoved evidence into his pocket.

His mind started to race. A breeze suddenly bellowed through him as the storm grew in strength. That small flame was dead. This trial… was pointless. His will to live had vanished for good this time. He didn't care what happened… he didn't care… anymore...about...anything…

So why try?

He'd rather give up…

It was time to give everyone the best ending possible to all of this… If they all died…. Then they'd all be free of this torture. At this moment, Himura decided that this was the only option. The only way he could repay all of his friends.

Hotta, Kentaro, Yunokawa, Kusonoki, Sugai, Eguchi, Niijima, Sweeney… and Koba… We'll all be together again soon…

* * *

As the fire disappeared, she saw it. The corpse of her friend…

She never thought he'd die like this. He was the only person she had left that she could trust. This game kept taking people away from her. Both Yunokawa and Sweeney had been dragged away from her.

And now, she had failed Kobayashi too. She had been selfish, pushing him away when he needed her the most. She knew that he was in trouble, that she could have helped him, yet she turned him away. She knew that Despair can be resolved… it was her fault he was dead!

She… she suddenly felt useless. No matter what she tried to do her friends all seemed to be dying. Was it even worth trying anymore?

" _Yo, you're totally my Homie!"_

N-No! It was even more selfish to give up! If this was her fault she owed it to him to figure out how he died. He'd done this for her when she was lost. She had to do the same for him!

Iris still couldn't believe what she was seeing. Inside this dark room was a scene she never wanted to witness. She had so much left to say. She had wanted to help him, to help walk him back out of the depths of darkness and back into the light. Now… Now that was impossible.

Iris glanced over, watching as Himura wandered into the scene. She could see the same emptiness in his eyes that Koba had carried this morning. As she glanced around she could see it starting to form inside everyone. All of their eyes felt… dead. She looked back, just in time to witness Himura scoop something off of the ground. The darkness grew… she could almost feel it from where she was standing. She then watched as he turned towards the door.

Wh-Where was he going? He had to help investigate, right? He wasn't just going to leave! Himura didn't even lay eyes on her as he walked through the frame of the door. What was she going to do? She had to stop him, she couldn't just let him walk away from this. Without thinking she grabbed onto his arm, stopping him for a moment.

"Himura, what are you doing?" Iris asked, her eyes scanning him for any kind of answer. "We have to investigate, you can't just leave."

"Don't worry Iris…" Himura's head slowly turned, his eyes narrowing down on her like an icy drill. "We'll get out happy ending this time."

Her arm recoiled, almost by instinct, Not because she wanted him to leave, it was because she was afraid. His voice scared him, his words contaminated with the same virus that had infected Fumio. It was spreading like some kind of disease. An epidemic that would kill all of her friends if she didn't do something about it.

This is what she wanted, right? Ever since she abandoned them after Yunokawa's betrayal she wanted a chance to help out more. It wasn't fair, in her eyes, that her friends had to carry all of the emotional labor of pinpointing the killer within the ranks of their friends. If Himura wasn't going to do this and Koba wasn't here to help him, then that only left her.

It was all up to Iris now! She had to figure out _**Who killed Fumio Kobayashi!**_

Now, how did all of these trials work? She tapped her jaw, taking a moment to remember the steps she'd seen everyone take to fully cover the needed grounds during an investigation. She should probably start with the body. Yet there was something she felt like she was missing… something that always happened before they could investigating.

"Goooooood Evening Kiddos!" Monokuma popped out of the ground, a big grin on his face before he paused, looking over the scene before suddenly sweating. "W-Wait? When did this happen?"

"That's what I forgot!" Iris slammed her fist into the palm of her hand before turning towards Monokuma. "I need the Monokuma File! Hand it over!"

"The Monokuma file? Right! Of course I have one a those!" Monokuma paused, digging through his pockets(?) for a moment before pulling out one singular tablet. He tapped the screen, almost as if he was checking it over before handing it over to Iris. "Here ya go!"

"Why… is there only one?" Iris asked, taking the black slab of tech in between her hands before looking back at the bear.

"Because they're super expensive and hard to make! Frankly I didn't feel like spending the time coding these damn things when only three of you actually read them!" Monokuma huffed, his hands on his hips as he spoke. "Maybe now you'll all learn to appreciate the hard work I do!"

Iris paused, rolling her eyes before she went to look over the Monokuma file. She loaded it up, just as she had done with the past Monokuma files. Yet this one flashed, the screen glitching out right before her eyes before it just showed the murder scene. It showed that the victim died from a pink spot in the chest on the figure on the side but there was only two words written in the description.

 _Fuck You_

"W-Wait a minute! Is this some kind of joke?" Iris turned back to Monokuma, waving the tablet in the air as she pointed her finger at the bear.

Monokuma paused, looking a bit startled at the lacking information provided before shaking his head. "Well it's just what you get for not appreciating me!" Monokuma huffed, crossing his arms across his chest before he waddled away.

Now Iris was angry. What kind of nonsense was this? Of course this case was going to be hard but the fact Monokuma wasn't even giving her a time or cause of death was really irritating.

But she didn't have the time to focus on it right now. She had to investigate the body. Maybe that would tell her some important information on her friend's death. She walked forward, swallowing down the sorrow that forced its way up from seeing Kobayashi like this. She needed to figure out who killed him, she needed to make sure everyone lived through this trial. It's what Fumio would have wanted.

She glanced over at Komaeda, the teacher was still knelt next to the student's body in silence. Iris was a little freaked out by the white haired teacher. Koba had always talked so highly of him but she never really understood why. Unfortunately it looked like he wasn't going to be any help in this investigation either. She sighed, looking up at the spear that penetrated Koba's chest. Blood oozed free, staining his t-shirt and puddling onto the floor underneath him. Iris also noticed bloody fingerprints on the end of the spear. Her eyes were glued to the spear. _**It was an object she'd never seen in the school.**_ Plus, if someone was going to stab him, _**why use such a long weapon**_.

Iris glanced around, seeing that three out of four of Koba's limbs were restrained, the duct tape over his mouth and the several cuts that freckled his right leg, Iris had no idea why this murder would have to be so brutal. It made the whole thing look like the aftermath of someone torturing him for answers. But why would someone need information from him? There were so many questions she had with answers nowhere in sight.

" _Looks like we have a copycat on our hands..._ "

"Huh?" Iris was caught off guard by the voice. It was almost like a ghost, it's life fading away in the wind. It was weak and strained, so easy to miss over the sound of her own heartbeat. When she looked at Komaeda the teacher hadn't moved, still slumped over as his long, white wisps of hair draped over his pale face.

"Whoever did this wants to make a point. It's not exactly like mine but their message is coming across clear. What they want is obvious." Komaeda wheezed, Iris thought he was going to cough but instead he broke into a fatigued laugh.

Iris swallowed. Right now she really didn't understand why Koba had trusted this man. Even his laugh was scaring her. But he seemed to know something and right now he was the only person who seemed willing to help her. "Wh-What are you talking about?"

"Back in _my_ classes mutual killing game, I found out the truth about my classmates and I. That we were all monsters. So I devised a plan to kill my entire class. To prevent them from ever seeing the real world again." Komaeda laughed more, his eyes growing wild as he put one of his hands against his chest, almost as if he was trying to brace himself. " _ **Whoever did this only killed Kobayashi to try and kill all of you at once!"**_

Wh-What do you mean?" Iris questioned, scared as she covered her mouth.

"There was no motive this time around, right? No reason to kill… " Komaeda chuckled, rubbing his face as he spoke.

"But why would someone want all of us to die?" Iris swallowed.

"I have no idea! Maybe they found out some secret about their class? Maybe they decided you shouldn't take a step out of those school doors… or maybe they wanna see what would happen if a class actually lost a trial!" Komaeda laughed, Iris responded by scooting further away from him.

"Well I don't have time to go over theories… I should really get back to investigating." Iris paused, leaning forward to look over the body.

Iris went quiet, trying to ignore the ragged breath of the teacher sitting next to her. She had seen something that had been bothering her for awhile. Something was clenched tight in Koba's hand. She reached out, gently tugging it from his deadlocked fingers to gently look over the silky piece of white cloth that now dangled between her fingers. The edges were ragged, obviously torn from a larger piece of cloth. The material felt nice too, like it might have been from something expensive. _**Why was Koba holding a ripped piece of cloth?**_

"Looks like it's a piece to something more expensive." Komaeda responded, looking over the cloth with pale green eyes.

"That's what I was thinking." Iris went to put the cloth back, going to stuff the cloth back inside of his clenched hand. She didn't want to change the scene too much for anyone else who might try to look over the body. That was when she accidently touched his cold hand, sending a hard shiver through her whole body. _**Koba's body was freezing cold!**_

"He's so cold! A-Are dead bodies always this cold…?" Iris asked, turning to look at Komaeda with a confused stare.

Komaeda paused, moving one of his hands to cup against one of Koba's arms. He didn't pull his hand away as quickly as Iris had, slowly dropping his hands back to his sides before slowly shaking his head. "No, his body shouldn't be that cold."

Iris nodded. That was something else she would have to remember. She had no idea what could make a body so cold though! Sighing, she moved to the next part of the investigation. Quietly she observed his right arm. The rope tied around this one had obviously been cut. The fire from before couldn't have done it since there wasn't a single part of it that was singed.

"This might be important," Iris started, calling Komaeda's attention over to the cut rope, "This one isn't tied like the others! It was obviously cu-"

"Sorry but it's probably not that important." Komaeda responded, waving it off as he was looking at one of the restrained limbs. "I did the same thing during my murder. I believe it was part of the replication of that scene. Do you wanna see something a lot more important?"

Iris paused, looking over at Komaeda as he lifted one of Koba's tied limbs off the ground, he pulled it all the way up, a lot farther than the rope should have allowed. _**Yet the rope just stayed tied to his ankle, the tightness of the rope staying the same no matter where he put the ankle it was attached to**_. Iris also noticed his legs didn't seem to really bend at the knees at all.

"Ropes don't do that…" Iris finally stated when Komaeda dropped the dead student's leg back onto the ground. "Also… were you able to bend his knees?"

"Good observation." Komaeda chuckled, rubbing his hands together as he went to examine more of the body. "No matter how much I tried I couldn't get his knees to bend. It was also hard to just get his legs to move as well."

"How… How long does it usually take for rigor mortis to set in?" Iris asked, her eyes scanning over his body carefully, attentive not to miss a single detail.

" _ **2-6 hours,**_ though it usually starts at the head and neck before working it's way down." Komaeda answered after a moment of thinking it over.

Iris was disturbed yet glad the teacher seemed to know the answer to that question. But it didn't make any sense. Iris knew she'd seen Koba alive less than 2 hours ago so there was no way he could have died that long ago! Was there another way body parts could become this stiff in such a short amount of time? _**So why was Koba's joints so stiff?**_

"There's something else that's strange about his body." Komaeda stated as Iris stood to her feet. "I believe there's something important missing."

"Y-Yeah! _**His windbreaker and his hat are gone!**_ " Iris gasped, covering her mouth as she made a note of the obvious problem in this scene. "Plus I've never seen that shirt before in my life… I kinda wish it wasn't stained with blood, it's actually really cute."

"But what does that mean, Iris?" Komaeda asked, though she felt as if he was actually just quizzing her.

Iris paused. "I-I don't know… I know that he only had one jacket and one hat but... "

Komaeda paused, Leaning over and tore a chunk of the shirt off Koba's body. He held it up, looking at it closely before he started to walk towards the door. "Follow me, Iris."

Iris paused, glancing over the body one more time. They were the last two left in the room. She was a little nervous about leaving Koba's body alone but… It wasn't going to go anywhere, right? It's not like the body was going to get up and walk away?

Wait, why did she think that! That wasn't funny at all! She huffed, giving Kobayashi one last glance before following Komaeda out of the room.

Komaeda was standing outside of the door, holding the piece of cloth up and looking it over. He paused before dropping it on the ground. "Ah, just as I expected…"

"Wh-What?" Iris asked, just more confused by Komaeda's weird actions. "What did you learn by that?"

"We learned that the shirt's real." Komaeda crossed his arms. "Now let's go back a-"

They turned towards the door, about to head back inside as the door suddenly slammed closed. Komaeda paused, looking around before trying to tug it open.

 _Clunk!_

"Huh, looks like we've been locked out." Komaeda chuckled, putting a hand up near his face.

"Locked out? But there might be important clues locked inside!" Iris paused, trying to open the door, sad to find out it wouldn't budge. "Um… Who would lock this door?"

"I locked it!" Monokuma was suddenly behind them, walking his way over to the door before tapping his paw against it. "I decided I wanted to start cleaning up early."

"You can't do that!" Iris argued, unsure of what she should do to fight against this bear. "How are we supposed to investigate the body?"

Monokuma shrugged. "Not my problem! Stop being so high maintenance and understand not everything's about you!"

"I'm not being High Maintenance! I need to investigate!" Iris tried to argue with him but she felt like she wasn't going to get anywhere with this.

"It's fine, we were done investigating in there anyways!" Komaeda laughed, patting Iris on the back before he turned towards Iris. "I think there's plenty of other places you need to look over anyways. Somewhere Koba would've really liked to spend his time! I'm going to go investigate his room in the meantime. I'll meet up with you afterwards, kay?"

Iris was just more confused at this point. She watched as the teacher walked down the stairs and away from the scene. Had they really found everything they needed from inside the room? Iris hadn't seen anything else that had caught her eyes. Yet she still wished she could double check. Sighing, she guess there was nothing else she could do about it.

She walked away from the room, wondering for a bit as she pondered what Komaeda had told her. Why was he so coy about this? Couldn't he just tell her where to look? Why would he just give her hints on what she should do? Doesn't he understand that their lives are on the line?

That's when she understood what he meant! He wanted her to investigate the skate park, even know she remembered Kobayashi talking about how excited he was to explore it. It must have been what he had meant. With a new sense of determination she headed up to the fifth floor.

Inside the skatepark, everything was dark. Guess they didn't have automatic lights in this room like all of the others. Iris fumbled against the wall, rubbing the wall with her palm until she brushed against the light switch. When the room was filled with light, she saw something startling. There was blood smeared down the side of the rink, slowly going to the center. It wasn't enough to be fatal, however. She paused, sliding down the side of the rink until she stopped near the trail of blood.

"It's dry…" Iris spoke out loud as she saw the dried blood. She slowly followed it, noticing it ended right on a weird bump on the ground of the rink. She paused, without thinking, she put her fingers against it. The round shape had some give. Slowly she pushed down on it, causing it to click almost like a button.

 _VRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!_

Slowly a monitor rose from the ground. She stared at it, wondering why there was a tv hidden inside the skate park. As the screen fully arose from it's hiding place, the screen lit up. A young girl's face appeared, stern as it stared forward at her. Wh-Who was she?

" _Koba… I knew you'd be able to find this video. I hid it in a place I knew only you could find it… But, unfortunately, if you're watching this that means I'm dead."_

Iris swallowed. This girl's message wasn't meant for her. It was meant for Kobayashi. She hugged herself gently, upset that whoever this girl was she had suffered a similar fate to the students trapped here. When will all of this death stop?

" _But I need you to do something very important, okay? Please, listen closely so-"_

The screen turned off, ending the video before the girl could finish her sentence. Iris leaned forwards. Did something fall out, was the tv unplugged? As she went to look at the other side, Iris spotted Monokuma standing on the other side of the screen, waving a usb in his hand.

"W-Wait I was watching that!" Iris moved, trying to swipe the the usb from his hand. Unfortunately Monokuma was a little bit faster than her, pulling the Usb out of her reach.

"Sorry Kiddo! There's some R rated content on here and I can't let your innocent eyes view it!" Monokuma laughed. "Besides this video isn't even for you! Don't be such a snoop."

Monokuma started to walk away, leaving Iris kneeled down in the center of the room. His demeanor had completely changed from earlier. He was rude and cold again. His body blocking the light from the hallway as he got ready to leave. Slowly his head turned, his eye glowing in the dark as he stared her down.

"A pretty girl like you should give up while you're ahead. Or maybe if you beg for your life I'll spare you. I've always had a _thing_ for older women." Monokuma let out a cold, empty laugh as he turned away from her, walking out the door. "Oh and by the way I'm bored so I'm cutting your time short."

 _Hello Hello! Students of Hope's Peak Academy! It's time for another thrilling trial! Head on up to the main floor and we'll ride the elevator down together! And don't be late!_

"You can't do that! It's cheating! We're not ready to do this trial yet!" Iris stood to her feet. She barely had any time to actually look for evidence. It had been less than an hour since they found Koba's body. There was no way they'd investigated everything already. Iris swallowed hard, moving to try and climb her way out of the skate rink in order to chase him out of the room.

"Cheating? I made the rules! It's impossible for me to cheat!" Monokuma started to laugh, throwing his paws into the air as he glared down at the struggling Iris. "I'm like your god you uppity bitch! I can do whatever I want! PUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Monokuma vanished out the door. Suddenly Iris felt useless again. Her hands trembled as she tried to pull herself up, her grip weak as it all seemed to squeeze through her fingers. Everything she was trying to grasp on to was escaping her. There was literally nothing she could do to stop this! She had no idea who the killer could be. If she didn't figure something out everyone would die! She couldn't let that ha-

She stopped, feeling a small pat on her leg. It was soft, gentle like a stuffed animal. She hadn't even felt the tears rolling down her cheek until this very moment. But when she saw the small stuffed bunny, she felt a little more calm. Confused, but calm. She slowly took a deep breath as the rabbit reached out to her, a pile of papers rested in her fingerless hands.

Iris carefully took the papers from the rabbit. She didn't know what was going on or who this rabbit was but… she felt familiar. Something about her reminded her of someone she'd talked to before.

"Why… Why are you giving me these?" Iris asked, holding the papers closer to her chest as she looked down at the rabbit.

"Because," The rabbit started, tucking her paws in front of her body as she looked up at Iris, "I don't like it when people cheat. It isn't fair! Monokuma threw these away! These are the last things you need and he tried to take them away from you!"

Iris looked down at them, flipping through the pages as something clicked inside her head. She didn't know why but a part of her knew these were important. She held them close, taking a deep breath before she looked back down to Monomi.

"Thank you… I'm glad someone's out there helping us." Iris didn't know how to put her gratitude into words. She felt like these only covered the bare minimum of how she was feeling.

Monomi giggled, waving before she picked up Iris and helped her over the edge of the skate park. The rabbit hopped up too, walking to disappear behind one of the larger items in the room. Iris paused, peering down at the papers one more time before glancing back to where Monomi had disappeared. For a moment she thought she saw a purple cloth vanish with her. That had to be her imagination, right? As she watched them leave she realized she needed to ask them one last question.

" _Where did this come from?"_

Monomi paused, her head poking back out as she pondered it over. She patted the bottom of her muzzle, mulling it over before bouncing as she finally remembered.

"Before Monokuma tried to dispose of this evidence it had been tucked away in the _**Medicine Lab**_!"

Iris said her thanks before she left the room, the two of them breaking ways as she let out a long sigh, unsure of what to do as she looked down at the documents clenched in her hand. She read them over, frowning as she slowly worried about what would be tucked away in this school that she wasn't allowed to investigate.

With one glance at the documents, she suddenly understood why Himura had seized up. She seemed to get why this entire trial was going this way. Suddenly, she realized exactly what she was supposed to do. She tucked it into her overalls, taking a deep breath before she headed out of the room to meet with the others in the elevator.

As she headed for the stairs she paused as bright red hair appeared over the top of the stairs. She watched as Sato ran up the stairs, looking relieved when she finally laid eyes on Iris.

"Carol! There you are! I was worried you'd locked yourself away in your room to cry! It's time for the investigation and Monokuma's getting really upset you're late." Sato wasn't even out of breath after running up five flights of stairs.

"Oh geeze, I just got distracted…" Iris apologized, toying with the straps of her overalls. "Sato, can I go look in one more room?"

"We don't have time for that!" Sato looked slightly annoyed, crossing her arms as she glanced around. "We could get in a lot of trouble if you take any longer."

Sato seemed reluctant to help but Iris suddenly saw an opening. She thought back to how Kaito behaved when he wanted something. She paused, gently biting her

Sato paused, looking nervous before giving a stern nod. "Leave it to me! I promise you at least five minutes, okay!"

Sato paused, glancing around frantically before she practically jumped down the stairs. Even though Iris couldn't see her anymore she heard the Racer shout through the halls, crying out for the attention of Monokuma. "Hey Fucker! Bet ya can't catch me!"

Iris soon heard Monokuma call after her, the small bear footsteps following the Racer's heavy steps. "Hey! We have a trial! You can't be doing this ri- WAIT! Put your damn clothes back on!"

Iris was a little worried about her friend, but a part of her knew she would be okay. Iris needed to gather this last bit of information. She turned away from the stairs, heading over to the medicine lab and looking for anything that stuck out to her.

Walking through the room she felt as if she'd been taken back to an old middle school science lab. Everything was neatly organized and clean. It was kind of annoying how perfect everything looked. Iris was almost afraid that she was just wasting her time here. That's when she saw something shiny in the trash in the back of the room.

Iris quietly walked over to the trash, bending over and scooping the bottle out of the trash. The bottle gleamed in the glaring light of the room. The bottle had a label on it too, directions on how to use the concoction within was scribbled on right before her eyes. She quickly read it over, hoping that this was the last piece she needed.

 _ **This toxin is still experimental. Small doses of this will cause headaches and stomach cramps. Large doses can be lethal and cause bleeding from the ears. The poison has a very present bitter taste, making it almost impossible to eat it unnoticed.**_

Iris wasn't sure what this clue meant. She wasn't even sure if it was important to this case. Yet half of the bottle was empty. She couldn't ignore it at this point. She stuffed it into the pocket of her overalls. She went to go look for more clues before she heard the click of shoes behind her.

She turned around, seeing Kaito standing in the doorway. He had an almost sad look across his face. She felt her chest clench up as she saw him standing there.

"I already caught Sato. You're lucky I stepped in, she could have gotten in a lot of trouble if she'd been caught. You're walking a dangerous line…" Kaito sighed, moving a few steps closer. His posture was different. His shoulders were slouched, bent slightly forward as he walked towards her.

"Kaito? you're scaring me." Iris asked, wondering why the actor was being so… strange.

"No, you're misunderstanding my words, Iris." Kaito sighed, "I'm here to walk to down to the trial."

"Please tell me you didn't do it?" Iris asked, suddenly thinking about the papers she had received. "I saw the script. I know you were supposed to play Komaeda in the movie adaptation of the second killing game… You were one of the only people who would have known what that room looks like. Did you kill Koba?"

"It doesn't matter who did it." Kaito said gently. "We can talk as we walk down to the trial, kay? We don't want you to get into even more trouble."

Before she knew it, she was following him out the door, the two of them slowly walking down to the room on the first floor. Kaito's long locks bounced with him, almost synthetic as how perfect they were. Yet his face was frozen into something… a lot less collected than normal.

"Even if you don't care I have a debt to Koba! I have to do this, not just to save everyone's lives but so Koba's death won't be meaningless." Iris felt a warmth in her chest that filled her with energy. She blinked away the pools forming at the rim of her eyes. "No one is going to stop me from making up for my mistakes. Not you, not Monokuma, not even the mastermind. I won't give up on Koba and I can't give up on my friends and Kaito I'm not giving up on you either!"

"I wish I could half as determined as you are..." Kaito made a fake, sad chuckle, pausing before letting off a sigh. "I'm sorry Iris, you don't deserve this end. You're a nice girl. But in this trial everyone is going to vote for me. Then everyone is going to die."

"Wh-Why would you want that?" Iris felt the rage bubbling in her gut. Why would he want everyone to die? What was his game? Was he trying to trick her with all of this?

"I could never explain it to you." Kaito sighed, almost looking sad as they finally reached the bright, red door. "This is the only way I'll ever get my happy ending. I can't live like this anymore. The things I've done... "

Iris paused, glaring at him as she went to argue more with the actor. But as he opened the door, he put on another beautiful, bright expression. It felt hollow to her, a gesture that he just needed to perform at this point.

"I'm excited to go face to face with you in this trial Iris. But I can promise you one thing… _**You're going to lose.**_ "


End file.
